Headline
Trust TV: SERAP Drags Buhari To Court Over N5m Fine
Published
3 years agoon
By
Editor
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project and Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development have filed a lawsuit against the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), asking the court to “declare arbitrary and illegal, the N5 million imposed on Trust Television, Multichoice Nigeria Limited, Nigerian Television Authority-Startimes Limited and others over their documentaries on terrorism in the country.”
Joined in the suit as Defendants are the Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, and the National Broadcasting Commission.
The NBC had last week imposed the fines on the media houses, claiming that their documentaries “glorified the activities of bandits and undermines national security in Nigeria,” and contravene the provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.
The PUNCH reports that Trust TV was fined over the broadcast of the documentary titled “Nigeria’s Banditry: The Inside Story”, which was aired by the station on March 5, 2022.
The Trust TV management, in a statement last Wednesday, noted that the fine was communicated to the media firm in a letter signed by the NBC Director General, Balarabe Shehu Illela.
READ ALSO: NIN-SIM Linkage: SERAP Sues Buhari Over Security Agencies’ Access To Subscribers’ Details
Illela had said the fine was imposed on Trust TV because its broadcast of the said documentary contravened sections of the National Broadcasting Code.
But in the suit number FHC/L/CS/1486/2022 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court, Lagos, SERAP, and the CJID are seeking: “an order setting aside the arbitrary and illegal fines of N5 million and any other penal sanction unilaterally imposed by the NBC on these media houses simply for carrying out their constitutional duties.”
According to the plaintiffs: “The NBC and Mohammed have not shown that the documentaries by the media houses would impose a specific risk of harm to a legitimate state interest that outweighs the public interest in the information provided by the documentaries.”
The plaintiffs said: “The documentaries by these independent media houses pose no risk to any definite interest in national security or public order.”
The plaintiffs also said, “It is inconsistent and incompatible with the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] to invoke the grounds of ‘glorifying terrorism and banditry’ as justifications for suppressing access to information of legitimate public interest that does not harm national security.”
The plaintiffs also said, “The documentaries by the independent media houses are in the public interest, and punishing the media houses simply for raising public awareness about these issues would have a disproportionate and chilling effect on their work, and on the work of other journalists and Nigerians.”
According to the plaintiffs, the action by the NBC and Mohammed is arbitrary, illegal, and unconstitutional, as it is contrary to section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution, and international human rights treaties including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which Nigeria has ratified.
The suit filed on behalf of the plaintiffs by their lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare and Ms Adelanke Aremo, read in part: “A fine is a criminal sanction and only the court is empowered by the Constitution to impose it. Fine imposed by regulatory agencies like the NBC without recourse to the courts is unfair, illegal, and unconstitutional.”
“The grounds of ‘glorifying terrorism and banditry’ used as the bases for sanctioning the media houses are entirely contrary to constitutional and international standards on freedom of expression and access to information.”
“Imposing any fine whatsoever without due process of law is arbitrary, as it contravenes the principles of nemo judex in causa sua which literally means one cannot be a judge in his own cause and audi alteram partem which means no one should be condemned unheard.”
“Article 19 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights establishes the right to freedom of opinion without interference. Article 19(2) establishes Nigeria’s obligations to respect ‘the right to freedom of expression,’ which includes the freedom to seek, receive and impart information, regardless of frontiers.”
READ ALSO: Missing N4b: SERAP Drags Lawan, Gbajabiamila To Court Over Failure To Institute Probe
“Under article 19 (3), restrictions on the right to freedom of expression must be ‘provided by law’, and necessary ‘for respect of the rights or reputations of others’ or ‘for the protection of national security or of public order, or of public health and morals.”
“Although article 19(3) recognises ‘national security’ as a legitimate aim, the Human Rights Council, the body charged with monitoring implementation of the Covenant, has stressed ‘the need to ensure that the invocation of national security is not used unjustifiably or arbitrarily to restrict the right to freedom of opinion and expression.’”
“The grounds for imposing fines on these independent media houses fail to meet the requirements of legality, necessity, and proportionality.”
“The requirement of necessity also implies an assessment of the proportionality of the grounds, with the aim of ensuring that the excuse of ‘glorifying terrorism and banditry’ and ‘national security’ are not used as a pretext to unduly intrude upon the rights to freedom of expression and access to information.”
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
You may like
Security Votes: SERAP Gives Governors Seven Days To Explain Spending
Nepotism Under Buhari Worse Than Tinubu’s Govt — Shehu Sani
Withdraw Bill To Regulate Bloggers, SERAP Tells Akpabio, Abbas
Why We Visited Buhari – Atiku
SERAP Kicks As Bill To Jail Nigerians Who Don’t Vote Is Proposed
SERAP Drags Tinubu To Court Over Fubara, Deputy, Lawmakers’ Suspension
Headline
Trump Birthright Citizenship Order Halted In Class-action Suit
Published
1 day agoon
July 10, 2025By
Editor
A federal judge on Thursday halted President Donald Trump’s order restricting birthright citizenship, as opponents of the policy pursue a new legal avenue following the US Supreme Court’s overturning of a previous block.
The high court’s conservative majority delivered a landmark decision in late June that limits the ability of individual judges to issue nationwide injunctions against presidents’ policies.
Several such judges had in fact blocked Trump’s attempt to end the longstanding rule, guaranteed in the US Constitution, that anyone born on US soil is automatically an American citizen.
However, the Supreme Court left open the possibility that orders could be blocked via broad class-action suits against the government.
READ ALSO:‘You Should Get It’, Netanyahu Nominates Trump For Nobel Peace Prize
Trump’s opponents quickly filed new class-action suits seeking to block again the executive order.
On Thursday, Judge Joseph Laplante of the US District of New Hampshire granted class-action status to any child who would potentially be denied citizenship under Trump’s order. The judge ordered a preliminary halt to it as legal proceedings carry on.
The judge delayed his ruling for seven days to permit the Trump administration to appeal.
Cody Wofsy, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) who argued the case, called the ruling a “huge victory” that “will help protect the citizenship of all children born in the United States, as the Constitution intended.”
READ ALSO:Putin Says Will Speak With Trump On Phone Today
Trump’s executive order decrees that children born to parents in the United States illegally or on temporary visas would not automatically become citizens — a radical reinterpretation of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.
His administration has argued that the 14th Amendment, passed in the wake of the Civil War, addresses the rights of former slaves and not the children of undocumented migrants or temporary US visitors.
The Supreme Court rejected such a narrow definition in a landmark 1898 case.
READ ALSO:After Fallout With Trump, Elon Musk Says He’s Forming ‘America Party’
The current high court, with a 6-3 conservative majority, avoided ruling last month on the constitutionality of Trump’s executive order and only addressed the issue of nationwide injunctions.
It nonetheless permitted the order to go ahead but delayed its ruling from taking effect until late July to allow for new court challenges.
Several lower courts, in issuing their previous injunctions, had ruled that the executive order violated the Constitution.
Headline
PICTORIAL: Two Undocumented Nigerians Arrested For Drug Trafficking In Libya
Published
1 day agoon
July 10, 2025By
Editor
Libya’s Counter-Terrorism Forces have arrested two undocumented Nigerians over alleged involvement in drug trafficking.
According to a statement shared by Migrant Rescue Watch on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, the suspects were caught with quantities of hashish and hallucinogenic pills, including Tramadol and Lyrica.
Authorities also recovered a large sum of cash suspected to be proceeds from drug sales during the operation.
READ ALSO: [JUST IN] AFCON Qualifiers: Super Eagles Stranded At Libya Airport
Following their arrest, the two Nigerians have been handed over to the appropriate legal authorities for further investigation and possible prosecution.
The statement said, “Counter-Terrorism Forces arrested 2 undocumented #migrants of Nigerian nationality for drug trafficking. The individuals were found in possession of hashish, hallucinogenic pills “Tramadol” & “Lyrica” as well as cash from proceeds.
“Both individuals were referred to competent authorities for legal action.”
Headline
31 Workers Escape Death As Tunnel Collapses In Los Angeles
Published
2 days agoon
July 10, 2025By
Editor
All 31 workers escaped without injuries from a collapsed industrial tunnel in Los Angeles’ Wilmington area, after scrambling over a tall pile of loose underground soil, city officials said late on Wednesday.
The trapped workers were shuttled back to the tunnel’s entry point, more than 5 miles (8 km) away from the affected area, after they escaped the collapsed section and met several coworkers in the unaffected part of the tunnel, the Los Angeles Fire Department said in a statement.
The tunnel, which had a diameter of 18 ft (5.5 m), trapped 27 individuals, while four workers entered the damaged section to assist with rescue, LA Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva told reporters in a media briefing.
READ ALSO: Los Angeles Invaded By Illegal Aliens, Criminals, Says Trump
“The workers had to climb through debris. They had to make themselves out through,” before they were assisted out, Villanueva said.
Robert Ferrante, chief engineer and general manager of Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, told the briefing that a section of the already built part of the tunnel experienced squeezing ground conditions and partially collapsed.
“LAFD has just reported that all workers who were trapped in the tunnel in Wilmington are now out and accounted for. I just spoke with many of the workers who were trapped. Thank you to all of our brave first responders who acted immediately,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a post on X.
The collapsed section was a part of the Los Angeles County’s Clearwater Project, where the new 7-mile tunnel is being built to upgrade the region’s sewer system, officials added.
(Reuters)
- Congress Newspaper @4: X-Raying The Evolution Of Media In Ijaw Nation
- JUST IN: Psychiatric Hospital Staff Shot Dead In Benin
- Supreme Court: Jubilant Supporters Stunned, Locked Out Of Edo Govt House [PHOTOS]
- Gunmen Invade Catholic Seminary School In Edo, Kill One, Abduct Three
- Pastor Arraigned Over Alleged Rape Of Married Woman In Edo
- OPINION: BAT Rejects Trump’s Amazing Offer
- Nurses Reject NSIWC Circular On Allowances
- LASIEC Releases Validated Candidates’ List Gor Lagos LG Polls
- Lagos Police Deploys 30,000 Officers For LG Polls
- How Law Student’s Inability To Pay N120,000 Caused Her Death At UNIZIK
About Us
Trending
- Metro3 days ago
Mysterious Bird Found Inside Auchi Poly Lecturer’s Office, Killed
- News4 days ago
BREAKING: FG Officially Releases Age Limit For Admission Into Tertiary Institutions
- News4 days ago
OPINION: APC’s Leprosy Versus ADC’s Scabies
- Politics3 days ago
‘The Man I Defeated 32 Years Ago Hasn’t Forgiven Me’ – Ita-Giwa Laments Discrimination Against Women In Politics
- News5 days ago
Flash Flood Warning: Sokoto, Edo, Akwa Ibom, 17 Other States At Risk In July — NiMet
- Politics4 days ago
97 Lawyers Line Up To Defend ADC, Mark, Aregbesola Against APC’s ‘Fake Lawsuit’
- Entertainment5 days ago
OPINION: From The North, ‘A Storm Is Coming’
- News4 days ago
Obi In Benin, Donates N15m To St Philomena School of Nursing Sciences
- News2 days ago
‘I Feel Your Pain’ – Ighodalo Reacts To S’Court Verdict On Edo Guber Election
- Politics5 days ago
INEC Announces Dates For Commencement Of Continuous Voter Registration In Osun