The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Niger State Governor Umar Bago, demanding the reversal of the Badeggi FM closure, an independent radio station in Minna shut down on August 1, 2025.
In an open letter signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization condemned the governor’s directive as “arbitrary and unlawful,” citing violations of press freedom and Nigeria’s constitutional and international human rights obligations.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass reports that on Friday, during an All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders’ meeting in Minna, Bago ordered the immediate closure of the Badeggi FM, revocation of its broadcast license, and profiling of its owner, Shuaibu Badeggi, over allegations of “unethical broadcasts” and incitement.
However, SERAP dismissed these claims as vague and unsubstantiated, arguing they were designed to silence dissent.
The organization also highlighted threats to demolish the station’s premises, calling for an immediate end to attacks on Badeggi and his staff.
SERAP’s letter emphasized that the Badeggi FM closure undermines the public’s right to information and the station’s role in fostering democratic discourse ahead of the 2027 elections.
The organisation also urged Bago to refrain from weaponizing the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and law enforcement to suppress media freedom.
SERAP stated: “Silencing 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’s international human rights obligations.
“The shutting down of the station, arbitrarily revoking its licence, threatening to unlawfully demolish its premises, and profiling the station’s owner are all antithetical to the Nigerian Constitution and international human rights obligations.
“The Nigerian Constitution and human rights treaties protect the press not merely so that specific journalists may conduct their work; they protect the press to guarantee the public’s right of access to information in the public interest.”
Also reacting to the move, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) condemned the shutdown as “executive rascality of the highest order.”
NBA President Afam Osigwe stated that only the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has the legal authority to revoke broadcast licences, not a state governor. He called the action an assault on press freedom and urged law enforcement agencies to ignore unlawful directives that violate constitutional rights.
