Broadcasting
Lai Mohammed’s Action to Enforce New NBC Code Suspicious- Iredia, Ex NTA DG
Professor Tony Iredia, former director-general of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), has said Alhaji Lai Mohammed, minister of Information and culture must leave the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to do its job.
Professor Tony Iredia, former DG, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)
He said this while speaking on Sunrise Daily, a flagship programme on Channels Television.
Iredia, who was also former director general of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), emphasized that Lai Mohammed is not a regulator and should allow the NBC do its job while he plays a supervisory role.
He pointed that the minister taking over the role of the broadcast regulator creates suspicion because he belongs to a political divide.
“Everybody expects a broadcasting commission to be an autonomous body that has no place in politics. If you listened to the news that has been putting on since, who is speaking? The Minister of Information. Is he the Director General of the NBC?
“When a minister is speaking, there is no way broadcasters can see that the regulator is speaking. He is not a regulator, he should leave the broadcasters in the NBC to do their professional duty and then the law gives him right to supervise them but not to take over the job.
“The moment the minister is speaking, no matter how well informed he may be, the people become suspicious because he belongs to a political divide and whatever he is saying is likely to be used against the opposition and I think this is not a natural thing.,” he said.
Iredia also said the NBC Code announced by the minister on Tuesday did not pass through stakeholders before its adoption. He described the new code as full of sanctions and not to create excellence in the industry as it should be.
“Now the problem really is that for the first time in the history of broadcasting in this country, the code was not done the way it used to be done.
“This time around, NBC just rolled out a number of things that it felt should be in the code and did not hold consultation with the stakeholders as the previous managers of the system did, where you first of all hold consultations and everybody would look at it, there will be a dummy, you bring it out at the tail end, there will still be another kind of review and all of that. Just as I said in the beginning, the code was supposed to be a professional guide,” he said.
“It was supposed to be a masterpiece that creates professional excellence in broadcasting but now it is filled with sanctions and what you would do and what you would not do and the bodies that should have been consulted were not consulted in the same way. Rather they were being told that it is subject to review and that all their objections now will be taken into consideration in the next review. In which case this particular edition was not exactly a broadcasting code for broadcasters made by broadcasters for professionals so that has been the problem and I am not surprised by the kind of headlines that are on today.”
Industry stakeholders have branded the code as agenda-driven, noting that they were excluded from making input before the code was finalised and described its unveiling as an ambush.
The NBC, in the new regulation, states that every broadcaster must license its broadcast and/or signal rights in any genre of programming to another broadcaster in Nigeria if “the genre of programme(s) enjoy(s) compelling viewership by Nigerians; it relates to a product or service that is objectively necessary to be able to compete effectively on a downstream market; or if it is likely to lead to the elimination of effective competition on the downstream markets”.
The new subsidiary legislation adds that refusal to comply will lead to consumer deprivation and stipulates the imposition of a N10 million for operators who fail to comply.
Metro Digital Limited, a licenced Indigenous broadcasting organisation, has accused Multichoice, pay television company, of refusing to obey judgements emanating from Courts in Nigeria.
It said the latest of such judgements is the one that was delivered by Justice Chinelo Odili of Rivers State High Court on May 4, 2026 in Suit No. PHC/3943/FHR/2025.
Dr. Paul Osuji, operations manager of Metro Digital, at a press conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State,
said the suit was filed by the organisation and two others against Multichoice and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Osuji stated that Justice Odili has in the judgement described the arrest of a staff member of the company and the carting away of it’s properties and disruption of it’s broadcasting business by the EFCC over a civil dispute of copyrighy as unlawful and violations of the applicants’ rights.
The manager recalled that in October 2025, Multichoice instigated the EFCC to read their office in Port Harcourt, arrested a staff of the company and staff of another company, while the suit was still pending.
“On October 16, 2025, the premises of Metro Digital Limited, a licenced indigenous broadcasting organisation was raided by the Nigerian anti-graft agency, EFCC, instigated by Multichoice Nigeria, purportedly acting on a preservation order made by the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt over the sub licensing of broadcasting content right.
“The preservation order came from a civil dispute already adjudicated by the Court of Appeal No. CA/CS/188/2021 – Multichoice Vs Metro Digital Limited and 20 others, which is a subject of a pending appeal -No. SC/CV/1248/2022 -Multichoice and 20 others before the Supreme Court.
“Instructively, while suit No. PHC/ 3943/ FHR/2025 was still pending, Metro Digital Limited filed an application to set aside the said preservation orders of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt and presided over by Hon. Justice A.T Mohammed.
“In his ruling delivered on December 10, 2025, set aside the preservation orders and it’s legal execution on Metro Digital Limited. The court also ordered EFCC to return unconditionally all the properties and records of Metro Digital Limited, illegally and unlawfully carted away during the raid but the agency has till today not obeyed those orders of the Court,” he said.
Metro Digital Limited is known for operating SLTV, a direct-to-home satellite television service launched to provide affordable, locally-owned alternatives to international pay TV
A Federal High Court in Lagos has restrained the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) from sanctioning or punishing broadcast stations and presenters over the expression of personal opinions, alleged bullying of guests, or failure to maintain neutrality on air.
NBC
Justice Daniel Osiagor granted the interim injunction following an ex parte application filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE).
The court specifically restrained the NBC, its officers, agents and affiliated persons from enforcing its recently issued “Formal Notice” or imposing sanctions, fines or penalties on broadcasters based on provisions of the 6th Edition of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
SERAP and NGE had approached the court to challenge what they described as an arbitrary and unlawful move by the commission to punish broadcasters for allegedly expressing personal opinions as facts, bullying or intimidating guests, or failing to maintain neutrality during programmes.
The groups also asked the court to determine whether the provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code relied upon by NBC were inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.
The suit followed an April statement by the NBC in which it raised concerns over what it described as increasing violations of the broadcasting code across news, current affairs and political programmes.
The commission had warned that presenters who expressed personal opinions as facts or bullied guests during live broadcasts would be sanctioned.
However, Justice Osiagor, in his ruling, held that pending the hearing of the substantive matter, the commission must refrain from using the formal notice to threaten, sanction or punish broadcast organisations and on-air personalities under the contested code provisions.
The matter was adjourned until June 1, 2026, for hearing of the motion on notice.
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned Metro Digital Limited before a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt over alleged cybercrime and unlawful interception and rebroadcast of content belonging to Multichoice Nigeria.
Metro Digital
The company was arraigned before Justice A.T. Mohammed on an amended four-count charge bordering on cybercrime-related offences and alleged illegal rebroadcast of protected broadcast content.
According to a statement issued on Wednesday by EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, the prosecution counsel, Steve E. Odiase, informed the court that the matter was scheduled for arraignment.
However, defence counsel, S.A. Somairi (SAN), reportedly attempted to halt the proceedings by drawing the court’s attention to a pending preliminary objection.
The judge, however, declined the request and ordered that the plea be taken in line with Section 478 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, which allows a corporation to enter a plea in writing through its representative.
One of the charges alleged that Metro Digital Limited, alongside its Managing Director, Ifeanyi John Nwafor, and a staff member, Ikenna Kanu, both said to be at large, conspired between 2015 and 2019 to unlawfully intercept and rebroadcast protected broadcast signals in Port Harcourt, Rivers.
Another charge alleged that the defendants intentionally and without authorisation intercepted and rebroadcast broadcast signals and devices, including tiger boxes and dongles, over which Multichoice Nigeria holds exclusive rights in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The anti-graft agency said investigations into the matter began in 2019 after Multichoice petitioned the commission, alleging that the illegal rebroadcast of its content caused significant financial losses.
Metro Digital Limited, through its representative, pleaded not guilty to all four charges.
Following the plea, prosecution counsel prayed the court to fix a date for trial.
Justice Mohammed subsequently adjourned the case until June 29 and June 30, 2026, for continuation of trial.
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