BREAKING: Court extends order stopping NBC from shutting down broadcast stations

The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos State on Thursday extended the order stopping President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, from revoking the licenses of fifty-three broadcast stations in Nigeria and shutting down the stations for supposedly failing to renew their licenses.

Justice Akintayo Aluko had in August granted an order of interim injunction after the hearing of an argument on motion exparte by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, and Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE.

The order was granted pending the hearing of the Motion on Notice for interlocutory injunction.

When the case came up before the Court for hearing, Thursday, Justice Daniel Emeka Osiagor extended the order of interim injunction pending the hearing of the Motion on Notice and adjourned the case to 26 October 2022 for the hearing of the originating summons.

The Court extended the order of interim injunction following the hearing of an argument by SERAP and NGE counsel, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN.

SERAP and NGE had in August filed a lawsuit against Buhari and NBC, asking the Court for “a declaration that section 10(a) of the Third Schedule to the NBC Act used by NBC to threaten to revoke the licenses of 53 broadcast stations and to shut down the stations is unconstitutional and unlawful and violates freedom of expression.”

The suit followed the decision by NBC to revoke the licenses of the broadcast stations and shut down their operations within a day over alleged N2.6 billion debt.