A Excessive Court docket of the Federal Capital Territory presided over by Honourable Justice Mustapha Adamu, has barred all events from interfering with Nigeria’s transition from analogue to digital tv.
The courtroom dominated on the Movement Ex Parte in go well with NO FCT/HC/CV/442/2024 between the Nigeria Broadcasting Fee (NBC), 1OR, and the Set-Prime Field Producers Affiliation of Nigeria (MAN).
This ruling on the movement for an interim injunction prohibits the Nigeria Broadcasting Fee (NBC) from interfering with or terminating the contract referring to Nigeria’s transition from analogue to digital terrestrial tv whereas the courtroom hears a movement on discover.
Dr. Ruben Atabo, arguing the movement ex parte for the Defendants, requested that the courtroom prohibit NBC from interfering with or terminating the contract referring to the transition from analogue to digital terrestrial tv in Nigeria pending the listening to and dedication of the substantive go well with.
The Claimants additionally requested an order prohibiting NBC from promoting its bid for a licence to change from analogue to digital terrestrial tv.
Moreover, the claimants requested that the courtroom droop the granting of licenses to any firm or particular person to fabricate set-top bins for the transition from analogue to digital till their case is totally resolved.
The plaintiffs within the case are Included Trustees of the Affiliation of Licensed Set-Prime-Field Producers of Nigeria, Gospell Digital Expertise Ltd, Digitune Media Applied sciences, I-Field Engineering, Trefonics Electronics, and Tve-RLG Restricted.
The grounds for his or her utility are that NBC applied a coverage of transitioning from analogue to digital terrestrial tv in Nigeria in 2012 and that they have been granted licenses to take part within the programme in change for N50 million.
They claimed that they might be granted two years of unique rights to recoup their funding starting with NBC’s switch-off date.
Claimants acknowledged that they have been authorised to fabricate a million set-top bins particularly designed to change from analogue to digital terrestrial tv in Nigeria.
They claimed, nevertheless, that on August 22, 2024, the Director Basic of NBC, together with the Government Vice Chairman of the Nationwide Communication Fee, issued a press assertion saying that the federal authorities had authorized a sum of ten billion {dollars} for the transition from digital to analogue.
They alleged that the NBC Director Basic introduced the discontinuation of the set-top bins they produced in favour of Hybrid Android DTH Set Prime Packing containers with information connectivity functionalities, thereby terminating their current contract.
Justice Mustapha Adamu, sitting within the FCT Excessive Court docket in Maitama, after listening to the claimants’ counsel’s submission to restrain the NBC from unlawfully terminating their contract, ordered that the established order be maintained by all events, that the claimants serve the defendants with a movement on discover with respect to the injunction, and that the movement be heard on September 5.
In mild of the courtroom injunction, NBC is retrained from altering from the unique authorized Federal Authorities White Paper on Digital Terrestrial Tv (DTT) change over to another new plan.
Moreover, NBC is prohibited from altering the prevailing STB specs as authorized by the Digiteam, licensing any new STB producers, or issuing new STB-type approval certificates.
Moreover, NBC is restrained from promoting or issuing invites to tender for the acquisition or provide of set-top bins in Nigeria for the DSO till the case is set.
