AN APPRAISAL OF THE LAW PROHIBITING RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS FROM POSSESSING BROADCAST LICENSE IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The National Broadcasting Commission was established in 2004 by virtue of the National Broadcasting Commission Act, 2004 with the mandate of licensing and regulating the broadcast industry in Nigeria. In carrying out its mandates, the Commission rolled out the requirements that every broadcast company must comply with before being granted a license by the President upon the recommendation of the Commission. This article examines the development of broadcasting regulations in Nigeria and powers of the Commission with a special focus on the licensing requirements. It specifically argues that S. 10 of the NBC Act prohibits religious and political bodies from owning a broadcast license in Nigeria. Some cases reviewed in this work demonstrate the approval of section 10 by the courts discarding the constitutional provision of fundamental rights and the advancement in technology. The paper argues further that the provision of S. 10, apart from being constitutionally discriminatory, is also backwards owing to the global advancement of the internet. The paper concludes that apart from the fact that S. 10 is contrary to the provision of the Constitution, it is no longer practicable due to the growth of the internet in Nigeria. The article recommends that the section needs to be expunged from the statute book, in light of the emergence of new technology.