Broadcasting
HiTV Faults ACON’s Claims, Stresses Position
Hi Media, owners of HiTV have said in a press statement released by Justin Akpovi-Esade, the company’s public relations manager, that there was no time members of the Association of Cable TV Owners of Nigeria (ACON) were willing to pay for it’s content with the intention of rebroadcasting it.
This position is contrary to the claims recently in the media that members of the association were willing to pay HiTV to redistribute its content especially the Barclays Premier League.
The association recently sued HiTV for alleged monopoly of English premiership league righst, a suit Charles Ebuebu, the company’s head of Legal and Content Acquisition, described as not only “frivolous, but reeks of malicious intent.”
Ebuebu stated: “The association brought a frivolous case against HiTV further to a petition (by HiTV) on piracy written to the NCC and NBC against some of its members such as CTL and Metrodigital. Solicitors to HiTV have filed a preliminary objection stating that the court does not have jurisdiction and there is no course of action raised in the matter.”
According to Ebuebu, Hi Media considers it offensive for anybody to allege that it was maintaining a monopoly on the English Premier League right. ACON had asked the courts to declare that satellite television companies should license programmes, especially the English premiership matches to other cable TV companies if they were ready to pay the fees.
“It is entirely false that HiTV is maintaining a monopoly and/or tyranny. From inception, we offered the re-broadcast rights to all broadcasters in the country, but they refused to accept the terms of engagement, which terms were equally passed to us from the head licensor. Also, they preferred to continue with the piracy of content that they have been engaged in all the while due to its negligible cost. It was only Multimesh who paid for a year but also engaged in piracy, which caused the relationship to be severed. We are always ready to offer the rights to other broadcasters but they are not ready to comply with the necessary conditions.”
“HiTV, when it got the rights has remained the only company willing to do business with others, a certain company had this same right for over a decade and never wanted to do business with anybody, yet none of these people went to court. If CTL and others are sincere, they should bring the letters of proposal written to them, offering them the rights on simple condition of bringing a letter of bank guarantee and a proper business model which HiTV had before the rights were given to it. So, where did we go wrong here? Instead, they chose to pirate our content flagrantly and the case is still with the Nigerian Copyright Commission.”
“Ironically, the case is being spearheaded by a leading member of the association, CTL, which seeks to, according to the members, reposition the operations of cable television industry in Nigeria. CTL is one of the biggest Pay TV broadcasters in the country, yet engage in the piracy of the HiTV sporting content as well as other channels meant for transmission only in the Middle East and North Africa. HiTV has written a petition to the NBC and NCC on the illegal activities of CTL and has further to that, filed a civil suit at the Federal High Court on the matter.”
“As stated previously, Multimesh Communications have been granted the rights previously and have been provided a draft agreement for the current season. The terms of the carriage of the HiTV soccer rights have being made to CTL as well as all members of ASCON, with the monetary obligations reviewed downwards at a subsequent meeting, but all of them have remained adamant in the infringement of these rights. We are ready to provide documentary evidence of the fact that these rights were previously granted to CTL and ASCON members,” Ebuebu stated.
“It is false to say some broadcasters went under due to lack of sporting programmes, but rather due to their business model which was defective. Nearly all of them especially CTL operates a business plan based on piracy and would always resort to frivolous claims to blind the general public as to its true intentions,” he added.
Awba-Ofemili Development Union (ADU) Health Committee has officially announced the launch of the Awba-Ofemili Health Awareness Campaign 2026, a community-wide initiative designed to promote preventive healthcare, disease awareness, early detection, health education, and healthy living across Awba-Ofemili.
Awba-Ofemili Health Awareness Campaign
The campaign, themed “Beyond Elu-Ulee (Buruli Ulcer): Building a Healthier Awba-Ofemili,” will be held on Thursday, 17 September 2026, at the Civic Centre, Awba-Ofemili, beginning at 9:00 a.m.
The programme builds on the success of the committee’s maiden Elu-Ulee (Buruli Ulcer) Awareness Campaign, which raised awareness on Buruli ulcer and strengthened community engagement on preventive healthcare.
According to the Chairman of the ADU Health Committee, Ogbuefi Remmy Nweke, KSM, the 2026 campaign represents a significant expansion of the committee’s health intervention agenda.
“This campaign is about moving beyond awareness to action. We want to deepen community health education, encourage early detection of preventable diseases, strengthen school health initiatives, promote First Aid awareness, and build sustainable partnerships that will improve the health and well-being of our people,” he said.
The 2026 campaign will feature community health education, free basic health screening, school health support, First Aid awareness programmes, and stakeholder engagement with healthcare professionals, development partners, and community organisations.
The committee has called on sons and daughters of Awba-Ofemili, residents, friends of the community, corporate organisations, philanthropic individuals, NGOs, healthcare institutions, and development partners to support the initiative through financial contributions and strategic partnerships.
To support the implementation of the campaign, the ADU Health Committee has opened a dedicated fundraising channel through Fidelity Bank Plc, with donations payable to Awba-Ofemili Education Volunteers (Account No. 6060490921).
The Committee appealed to all supporters to use “HEALTH FUND” as the transfer narration so that contributions can be properly recorded and accounted for under the ADU Health Committee Health Fund.
Secretary of the ADU Health Committee, Mr. Cornelius Nwakonobi, emphasized that every contribution would make a meaningful impact.
“No donation is too small. Every contribution will support community health education, medical outreach, school health programmes, First Aid support, and preventive healthcare initiatives. Together, we can build a healthier, stronger, and more resilient Awba-Ofemili,” he stated.
The ADU Health Committee reaffirmed its commitment to working with government agencies, healthcare professionals, development organisations, the Nigerian Red Cross, community stakeholders, and the Awba-Ofemili diaspora to advance sustainable health interventions in the community.
For partnership enquiries, sponsorship, or additional information, interested organisations and individuals are encouraged to contact the ADU Health Committee Secretariat.
Broadcasting
NBC Files Fresh Appeal against Judgment Barring it from Imposing Fines on Broadcast Stations
National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has filed an application seeking the permission of the court of appeal to file a fresh appeal against the judgement of the federal high court in Abuja barring it from imposing fines on erring broadcast stations.
In the application filed at the court of appeal in Abuja by Dapo Akinosun, counsel to the NBC, the commission argued sanity in Nigeria’s broadcasting sector is under threat and that the public interest would be better served if the court grants the application.
On January 17, 2024, Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, a judge at the federal high court in Abuja, restrained the NBC from imposing a N5 million fine on broadcast stations sanctioned in 2022 over allegations of “undermining Nigeria’s national security by broadcasting documentaries on banditry in Nigeria”.
The affected broadcast stations were Multichoice Nigeria Limited, owners of DSTV; TelCom Satellite Limited (TSTV); Trust-TV Network Limited; and NTA StarTimes Limited.
The suit was filed by Media Rights Agenda (MRA).
Dissatisfied with the ruling, the NBC appealed the judgement filed an appeal at the court of appeal in Abuja.
In June, the court of appeal dismissed the commission’s appeal, holding that it was “fundamentally defective” and incompetent.
Jane Inyang, lead judge of the panel, held that the parties before the lower court were identified as “Incorporated Trustees of Media Rights Agenda (as applicant) and National Broadcasting Commission (as respondent)” but in the notice of appeal the purported appellant was described as the “Nigerian Broadcasting Commission”,
The judge held that the discrepancy was significant and that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the commission’s appeal.
In the application, the NBC urged the court to grant it leave to raise and argue a fresh issue on appeal relating to the legal capacity of MRA to institute and maintain the original suit before the lower court.
The commission argued that the defect in the earlier notice of appeal, which resulted in the dismissal of its appeal, arose “solely from an inadvertent misdescription” of its name by its lawyer.
The NBC told the court that the subsisting judgement raises questions on the commission’s statutory powers to regulate broadcasting and enforce compliance with broadcasting standards in Nigeria.
The commission argued that the subsisting judgment is capable of creating uncertainty regarding its regulatory powers if it is allowed to stand.
The NBC also argued that without the pronouncement by the appellate court on the issues raised in the appeal, its regulatory framework would be weakened.
“A weakened regulatory framework may embolden non-compliance with established broadcasting standards, thereby increasing the dissemination of false, misleading and unverified information capable of causing unnecessary public anxiety, panic and social unrest,” the NBC said.
“Absence of effective regulatory oversight may further encourage irresponsible broadcasting practices and the misuse of broadcast and digital media platforms by persons who deliberately publish sensational, inaccurate or inflammatory content to intimidate, harass or unduly influence individuals, institutions and public discourse.”
David Adedeji Adeleke, known professionally as Davido, has shared his past suicidal thoughts as he dropped Oriadé, his sixth studio album yesterday.
Davido
Davido said he chose the date on purpose as it marks exactly 15 years since he began his professional music career.
Oriadé is a Yoruba word combining “Ori,” meaning destiny, and “Adé,” meaning crown.
It translates to “the crowned head.” The album has 13 tracks and features Black Sherif, Aya Nakamura, Leon Thomas, Mayorkun, and Llona.
It follows his 2025 project, 5ive, which reached number two on the Billboard World Albums chart.
Davido also announced an international tour to support the new record.
In the days leading up to the release, Davido gave interviews that revealed personal details about his past and his current life.
Speaking to Vibe Magazine on Thursday, he described a 2014 incident in Ghana that left him feeling suicidal.
He said he invited a woman back to his hotel room after a show, and she later posted a photo of him sleeping online.
He said the fallout overwhelmed him.
“My daddy was calling me. My sisters were calling me. If I saw the balcony that day, I would have jumped,” he said.
He said he was young at the time and did not fully understand the consequences of his actions.
He described the experience as a turning point that changed how he thinks about privacy and fame.
In the same interview, he explained why he often dresses down in public despite his wealth.
He recalled a trip to the South of France where he went out in shorts and slippers without his watch.
“I’ve been on jets, I’ve been flying, I’ve been in all these places since I was a baby. I’ve been seeing money since I was a baby. So all these things don’t really excite me,” he said.
He added that he sometimes prefers to drive a Toyota to the supermarket in Atlanta instead of one of his luxury cars.
In a separate livestream with Davrel, Davido spoke about how his life has changed since marrying his wife, Chioma, and becoming a father.
He said his home no longer holds the large crowds it once did.
“I can no longer have 100 people in my house like before,” he said.
He said he speaks to Chioma every day regardless of his schedule.
He also disclosed that he spends between $200,000 and $300,000 a month on himself, not including costs for his wife, children, jewelry and cars.
He said the amount is lower when he is in the United States, where he described his lifestyle as quieter.
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