Subair Mohammed, Author at Tribune Online

Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos State, has struck out a suit instituted by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) against the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the Minister of Information and Culture. SERAP had dragged the federal government to court over alleged threats and sanctions issued against some media organisations following the 2023 general elections. Ruling on the suit marked FHC/L/CS/469/2023, the Judge held that SERAP lacked the legal capacity to bring the action before the court. Justice Owoeye held that this rendered the suit incompetent and stripped the court of the jurisdiction to consider its merits. The Commission had threatened to revoke licenses and sanction broadcasters for allegedly airing “subversive,” “hateful,” and “inciting” content during the ‘turbulent’ post-election period. SERAP asked the court to determine whether NBC’s actions violated constitutionally protected rights to freedom of expression, access to information, and media independence. It also sought declarations and injunctions to nullify the alleged sanctions and to restrain the federal government and its agencies from imposing further penalties without due process. However, NBC, represented by its counsel, Olanrewaju Osinaike, filed a preliminary objection supported by a 22-paragraph affidavit. The commission raised 14 grounds for striking out the case, central among them being that SERAP had no authority to sue on behalf of the affected broadcasters, none of whom were parties to the case. NBC further argued that SERAP’s suit constituted an abuse of the judicial process, pointing out that the organisation had previously filed a similar suit, FHC/ABJ/CS/1436/2020, at the Federal High Court in Abuja. That earlier case had been decided in favour of the NBC by Justice N.E. Maha in April 2022, and the commission said the current case essentially sought the same reliefs, invoking the legal doctrine of res judicata (a matter already judged). Justice Owoeye rejected NBC’s claim of res judicata, noting that the subject matter and the parties involved in the current suit differed from the earlier Abuja case. He also ruled that bringing the case before his court did not amount to an abuse of court process. Despite those findings in SERAP’s favour, the judge concluded that the entire case was fatally flawed due to SERAP’s lack of legal standing. “It is trite that where a plaintiff lacks locus standi to commence an action in court, the action so commenced becomes incompetent because it is incapable of activating the jurisdiction of the court,” Justice Owoeye held. He added, “The proper order, in such a situation, therefore, is to strike out the claim.” SERAP had relied on constitutional guarantees and international human rights treaties, including Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to argue that NBC’s use of vague terms like “unpatriotic,” “divisive,” and “subversive” allowed for arbitrary interpretation and could lead to unwarranted censorship of the media. According to the organisation, such language infringes on the rights of Nigerians and the press to express dissenting opinions and to receive and disseminate information without fear of retaliation. In particular, SERAP sought judicial declarations that NBC’s reported sanctions against 25 broadcast stations and warning letters issued to 16 others over their coverage of the 2023 general elections were unconstitutional and, therefore, invalid. It also requested an order compelling the President to direct the withdrawal of these threats and an injunction barring further unilateral sanctions by NBC and the Ministry of Information. But NBC maintained it acted within its statutory mandate under the National Broadcasting Commission Act, which empowers it to regulate broadcast standards and uphold ethical conduct in the media space. The commission argued that its actions were necessary to prevent broadcasts capable of threatening national unity or public peace. It further insisted that SERAP suffered no direct harm from the sanctions and had not obtained the consent of any sanctioned media organisation to litigate on their behalf. In concurring with NBC’s argument on standing, Justice Owoeye ruled that SERAP had failed to demonstrate a sufficient legal interest in the matter. “Having found that the Plaintiff/Respondent lacks the requisite jurisdiction to institute this action, the need to consider this suit on its merit no longer arises,” he stated. The judge then ordered the case to be struck out, adding that each party would bear its legal costs. ALSO READ TOP STORIES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE