SERAP gives Niger governor 48 hours to reverse \u2018unlawful decision to shut down Badeggi FM<\/p>\n
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged Umar Bago, governor of Niger state to \u201cimmediately reverse the arbitrary and unlawful decision to strip Badeggi FM radio station of its licence, reinstate the station\u2019s licence, withdraw your threat to demolish the station\u2019s premises, and end your crackdown on freedom of expression and media freedom in Niger state.\u201d<\/p>\n
SERAP urged him \u201cto immediately end your attacks against\u00a0Shuaibu Badeggi,\u00a0the owner of\u00a0Badeggi FM 90.1, and other staff members of the radio station, publicly guarantee their rights\u00a0to liberty and security of person, and end the prevailing impunity for violations of freedom of expression and media freedom in your state.\u201d<\/p>\n
SERAP also urged him and his government \u201cto refrain from weaponizing the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and law enforcement agents to further crackdown on Badeggi FM and to uphold your constitutional oath of office to protect Nigerians\u2019 freedom of expression and media freedom in Niger state.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Bago had last Friday directed the state Commissioner of Police and Commissioner for Homeland Security to seal an independent media outlet, Badeggi FM Radio, Minna, revoked its license, profiled its owner and threatened to demolish the station\u2019s premises, having been unhappy with its broadcasts.<\/p>\n
In the open letter dated 2 August 2025 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: \u201cYour vague, unfounded and unsubstantiated allegations of \u2018inciting violence\u2019 against\u00a0Badeggi FM\u00a0and its owner are apparently made to silence the radio station and its owner.\u201d<\/p>\n
SERAP said, \u201cSilencing critical or dissenting voices under the guise of vague and unsubstantiated national security concerns is a fundamental breach of your constitutional oath of office and Nigeria\u2019s international human rights obligations.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to SERAP, \u201cSilencing\u00a0Badeggi FM\u00a0and its owner would have a chilling effect on the protection of freedom of expression and media freedom across several states.\u201d<\/p>\n
The letter, read in part: \u201cShutting down the station, arbitrarily revoking its licence, threatening to unlawfully demolish its premises and profiling the station\u2019s owner are all clearly antithetical to the requirements of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and the country\u2019s international human rights obligations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 48 hours of the receipt and\/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel you and your government to comply with our request in the public interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe crackdown on\u00a0Badeggi FM\u00a0and its owner is capable of discouraging participation of the press in debates over matters of legitimate public concern ahead of the 2027 general elections.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy your arbitrary and unlawful restrictions on\u00a0Badeggi FM,\u00a0you have seriously undermined the public\u2019s right to be meaningfully informed \u2013 and consequently the station\u2019s capacity to engage in the public discourse that sustains a democratic society \u2013 is also at stake.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour brutal attacks on\u00a0Badeggi FM, its owner and other staff members of the station constitute a serious restriction on the development of democracy in the country, since it impedes free debate over ideas and opinions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMedia outlets in Niger state must be free to enable debate on issues of public interest without fear of reprisals.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe shutting of the station, revocation of its licence, profiling of its owner and the threat to demolish its premises threaten the ability of the station and its staff to carry out their professional and constitutional duties and the broader landscape of independent media in Nigeria.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour purported suspension of the license of\u00a0Badeggi FM\u00a0radio station and closure of the station is a blatant violation of section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution and article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Nigeria is a state party and which are binding on your government.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour directive to revoke the licence of the station, close it down and demolish its premises is also an affront to Nigerians\u2019 right to\u00a0seek, receive, and impart information \u2018of all kinds\u2019 and participate in public discourse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour government has also flagrantly failed to respect and uphold its constitutional and international human rights obligations to ensure that journalists and media houses that regularly impart information on matters of public interest including\u00a0Badeggi FM\u00a0enjoy an environment to perform that function.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is significant public interest in the capacity of the press including\u00a0Badeggi FM\u00a0to obtain and impart the information that it needs to function properly and perform its vital public watchdog role.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom must be provided by law, imposed to protect legitimate aims, and necessary to protect those aims.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, your directive is neither lawful nor necessary. It also does not protect any legitimate public interest. Any limitations on freedom of expression must remain the exception and should be applied strictly so as to not put in jeopardy the right itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the Nigerian Constitution and human rights treaties recognize national security and public order as legitimate aims for restricting freedom of expression, the UN Human Rights Council has stressed \u2018the 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\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour government has failed to demonstrate the risk that the activities of Badeggi FM pose to a definite interest in national security or public order.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to our information, you reportedly ordered\u00a0the immediate shutdown\u00a0of Badeggi FM 90.1, a privately\u2011owned radio station in Minna, ordered the station\u2019s premises to be marked for demolition and requested the Commissioner of Homeland Security to profile the station\u2019s owner\u00a0Shuaibu Badeggi\u00a0on\u00a0unfounded allegations that the station \u2018promotes violence.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou reportedly stated that the \u2018daily activities of the radio station have been unethical\u2019, and accused the owner of the station of incitement of the people against the government.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou reportedly gave the unlawful directive on Friday 1 August 2025 during a meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders held at the government house in Minna.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA journalist\u2019s or a radio station\u2019s right to freedom of expression is protected even if the opinion advanced is not positively received.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Nigerian Constitution and human rights treaties protect the press not merely so that specific journalists may conduct their work; they protect the press in order to guarantee the public\u2019s right of access to information in the public interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSERAP is concerned that the shutdown of Badeggi FM is just the latest example of a pattern of harassment, intimidation and attacks by your government against journalists and others gathering and disseminating information in the public interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe free communication of information and ideas about public and political issues between citizens, candidates and elected representatives is essential. This implies a free press and other media able to comment on public issues without censorship or restraint and to inform public opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u25cf By serap-nigeria.org<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SERAP gives Niger governor 48 hours to reverse \u2018unlawful decision to shut down Badeggi FM Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged Umar Bago, governor of Niger state to \u201cimmediately reverse the arbitrary and unlawful decision to strip Badeggi FM radio station of its licence, reinstate the station\u2019s licence, withdraw your threat to demolish […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":94703,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[7233,5867,351],"class_list":["post-94700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-badeggi","tag-bago","tag-serap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=94700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94700\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/94703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=94700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=94700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everyday.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=94700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}