The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on Friday refused to grant an application filed by MultiChoice Nigeria Ltd, seeking an interim order restraining the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) from requesting any financial, accounting, or tax documents from them.

Justice James Omotosho, in a ruling on the ex-parte motion moved by the applicants’ counsel, Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), directed all parties not to take any step that could make the suit’s outcome nugatory.

Although the ruling was delivered on Wednesday, its certified true copy was sighted on Friday.

“The ex-parte order for interim injunction dated 8th day of May 2024 and filed 16th day of May 2024 is hereby refused,” he declared.

Justice Omotosho then adjourned the matter until May 30 for a hearing of the motion on notice.

MultiChoice Nigeria Limited and Details Nigeria Limited, providers of the subscription-based digital terrestrial television service GOtv, are the first and second applicants, respectively.

In the ex-parte motion marked FHC/ABJ/CS/652/2024, dated May 8 and filed by their lawyer on May 16, they sued NBC as the sole respondent.

The applicants sought three reliefs, including an order of interim injunction restraining NBC from investigating the companies to determine their annual income or NBC levy for the years between 2014 and 2024 pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

They sought an order of interim injunction restraining NBC from requesting, demanding, or receiving any financial, accounting, or tax documents from the companies other than the annual audited accounts of the companies already submitted to the commission.

They said this was in pursuant to section 2 (10) (b) of the NBC Code 6th Edition for the purposes of determining her remittance of NBC levy for the 2014 to 2024 years of account pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

They equally prayed an order of interim injunction restraining the commission from sanctioning, fining or suspending the companies’ license pursuant to the threats in its letter dated April 29 to them, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

In the affidavit deposed to by the companies’ head of compliance, Gozie Onumonu, he averred that the firms were mandated under the various NBC codes to pay a certain percentage of their income as an annual NBC levy to the respondent.

He said the current code, NBC Code 6th Edition, provides for 2.5 per cent of a broadcaster’s income to be paid to the respondent yearly as an annual NBC levy, while the former code, which was amended in 2019, provides for 1.5 per cent of a broadcaster’s income to be paid to the defendant yearly as an annual levy.

He claimed that the companies had never defaulted in paying their annual levy to the commission.

“In the year 2014, when the applicants subtracted the cost of production from their revenue to arrive at the then 1.5 per cent required of the applicants under the NBC Code 5th Edition, what was left for the applicants to pay to the defendant in compliance with the 1.5% requirement of the NBC Code 5th Edition was negligible.

“The amount the respondent would have been entitled to, from the applicants as annual NBC levy between 2014 to 2019, if the applicants were to strictly pay the 1.5 per cent annual NBC levy provided by the fifth Edition of the Code was small, and the respondent might not be able to carry out its administrative functions in view of its financial needs.

“Specifically, in the year 2014 and 2015, the amount that would have been due to the defendant as 1.5 per cent of the annual income of the 1st applicant was N2.1 million (N2,167,254)

“As a result, the respondent beseeched the applicants to consent to the payment of a fixed sum of N500 million (N500,000,000) as annual levy for the applicants’ licence period of 2014 to 2019 the sum of which was far more than what the plaintiffs were supposed to be paying to the respondent if the applicants were to pay only the 1.5 per cent of their annual income as provided by the NBC Code.

“For the years 2014 to 2019, that the respondent wants to carry out the investigation to verify whether the applicants paid up to 2.5 per cent of their annual incomes as annual NBC levy, the operational NBC Code then was the NBC Code, 5th Edition, and it requires the broadcaster to pay 1.5 per cent of their annual incomes as annual levy,” he said.

Mr Onumonu, who said the companies had already submitted a certified true copy of their audited account for the previous year(s) to NBC, said the commission was paid over N12 billion (N12, 490, 000, 0000) as annual levy from 2014 to date.

The officer described NBC’s action as an abuse of power, urging the court to grant their plea in the interest of justice.

(NAN)