In a substantive judgment delivered by the Federal High Court, Abuja on Wednesday 2nd July 2025, the court held that AREWA24 operates legally, has breached no law in Nigeria and as such the suit of the NBMOA lacked merit.
It would be recalled that last year, the Board of Trustees of the Northern Broadcast Media Owners Association (NBMOA) had filed a lawsuit against the broadcast company Arewa 24 Limited and seven other entities, alleging they are operating without proper licenses.
The case, which was heard by Justice Omotosho at the Federal High Court in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), lists the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Council (FCCPC), MIPAN, Multichoice, StarTimes, and ADVAN as defendants.
Speaking before the case was listed, the Chairman of the NBMOA Board of Trustees, Dr. Ahmed Tijjani Ramalan, highlighted concerns that the unlicensed operations of the defendants pose a threat to Nigeria’s established legal and competitive media landscape, impacting media owners and audiences nationwide.
When contacting the CEO of AREWA24, Mr. Celestine Umeibe for comment, he said, “I cannot comment yet until we received a certified true copy of the judgment from court, but I can assure you that we have written for the CTC and as soon as we receive it, I will come back to you with a statement.”