Lack Of Guidelines Stops NBC Licence For Facebook, Instagram, Others

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As NBA sues FG
ECOWAS Court fixes date to consolidate Twitter ban suits

Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and other platforms have yet to
register with the National Broadcasting Commission nearly one month
after the Federal Government introduced a new policy asking all
social media platforms and other over-the-top media to obtain a
licence from the NBC, According to The PUNCH report.^[1]

Following the suspension of Twitter on June 4, 2021, the NBC had
in an advertorial asked all social media platforms and online
broadcasting service providers operating in Nigeria to apply for a
broadcast licence.

However, after the NBC announced the new policy, the Minister of
Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, asked the House of
Representatives to amend the NBC Act to empower the commission to
regulate online platforms.

The development is believed to have caused confusion in the
agency as Mohammed’s statement implies that the NBC currently lacks
the power to regulate online platforms.

“The minister admitted before the House of Representatives that
we need to be empowered by law to regulate online platforms, but we
have already gone ahead to start regulating them. Everything is
just clumsy,” a top NBC source said.

The source said there was no licensing framework, adding that
the NBC also lacked the capacity for enforcement.

The source stated, “Sincerely speaking, the decision to suspend
Twitter was a knee-jerk reaction. The minister asked the NBC to
regulate online platforms when we don’t even have the technology to
do so. That was why we had to rely on the Nigerian Communications
Commission to block Twitter’s URL. It is the NCC that regulates the
Internet service providers and can block sites.

“There are thousands of platforms that broadcast content into
Nigeria. Is it all of them that will need to be licensed? If so,
how much will it cost? The government people using VPN will be
prosecuted and then later, they changed their mind. We seriously
don’t know what is happening.”

The Chief Executive Officer of IPI, Mr Adamu Garba, who created
a social media app, Crowwe, told The PUNCH that he had applied for
a licence from the NBC, but the commission had failed to work on it
for over three weeks.

“I have gone twice to the NBC. We went last week and they said
we should return on Monday, which we did but then we were asked to
return on Wednesday (today), which will be the third visit. The NBC
has not released any guidelines and has not given us any feedback.
There are a lot of things we don’t understand,” Garba said.

The Director, Media, NBC, Gloria Makinde, neither responded to
calls nor a text message sent to her.

Similarly, an aide to the minister, Segun Adeyemi, did not
respond to calls.

Meanwhile, Justice Olayinka Faji of the Federal High Court in
Lagos has fixed July 23, 2021, for hearing of a suit instituted by
human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, against the Twitter
suspension.

In the originating motion marked FHC/L/CS/542/2021, Effiong is
seeking nine reliefs, including an order of perpetual injunction
restraining the Federal Government and its agents from further
suspending, deactivating or banning the operation and accessibility
of Twitter or any other social media service in Nigeria.

The Nigerian Bar Association has similarly sued the Federal
Government for banning the microblogging platform, Twitter.

The National Publicity Secretary of the NBA, Rapulu Nduka, said
this in a telephone interview, with one of our correspondents in
Abuja on Tuesday.

According to him, the matter came up for mention before Justice
Fayi of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on Monday.

“We have served the processes and the case was adjourned till
July 23, 2021,” he said.

In the suit marked FHC/L/CS/613/2021, the Incorporated Trustees
of the NBA brought the action against the President, Major General
Muhammadu Buhari (retd.); the Attorney-General of the Federation
and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; the Minister of
Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; and the Nigerian
Communications Commission as first to fourth defendants,
respectively.

Similarly, the Community Court of the Economic Community of West
African States has fixed July 9, to decide on the consolidation of
all applications before it on the Twitter ban by the Federal
Government.

The ECOWAS Court stated this in a virtual sitting held via Zoom
on Tuesday.

On the cause list for the day were two applications against the
Federal Government over the Twitter ban.

One was the application brought by the Registered Trustees of
the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project against the
Federal Government marked ECW/CCJ/APP/23/21.

The other was the application brought by the Media Rights Agenda
and eight others against the Federal Government on the same issue
marked ECW/CCJ/APP/29/21.

The lawyer representing the Federal Government, Abdullahi
Abubakar, informed the court that he had a motion to consolidate
all the four applications.

In his motion on notice dated July, 5, 2021, Abubakar prayed for
the leave of the court to consolidate the hearing of the
applications and others that the court might deem fit in the
circumstance.

Counsel for SERAP, Femi Falana, SAN, did not object to the
application.