Gov Bago’s Badeggi Radio closure

Governor Mohammed Umar Bago of Niger State committed a major blunder on Thursday, July 31, 2025, when he ordered the immediate shut-down of Badeggi Radio 90.1 FM based in Minna, the state capital. He accused the station of inciting the public and promoting violence against his government. He also ordered the seizure of the station’s operational licence, alleging “unethical broadcasting”.

This action attracted a fusillade of condemnations from the Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE; Nigerian Bar Association, NBA; Amnesty International, AI; Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP; and other concerned stakeholders. Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Malagi Idris, while wading into the matter, observed that only the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, has the lawful authority to take the actions that Bago did.

Bago’s critics noted correctly that his action smacked of the acts of impunity that the military indulged in during its extended stay in power. The use of draconian decrees to proscribe newspapers and magazines and dump journalists in prolonged detention were very rampant. Many of our elected leaders, particularly governors, grew up under that dispensation. They seem unaware that our democratic order is based on the strict observation of constitutional provisions, not self-help.

Chapter 2, Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution (As Amended) empowers the mass media with the freedom to hold government accountable to the people. The law also tasks the NBC with regulating the electronic media space and applying due sanctions when infractions are committed.

Bago went outside the law and appropriated for himself powers that he does not possess under our laws. He should have complained officially to the NBC or gone to court.

It is so unfortunate that many political officeholders hardly spend time and energy to familiarise themselves with the provisions of the Constitution and our laws. That is where the Attorneys-General and Media Advisers come in, to ensure that their principals do not take actions that could expose them to avoidable embarrassments.

As a result, top officials of the Federal Government and Governors in this dispensation have been caught banning media reporters or outfits from covering Government Houses, ordering the arrest/abduction and detention of journalists, and engaging in other acts of impunity. This is unacceptable.

Under our democracy, there is freedom of speech and of the media, subject to the appropriate laws and professional regulations. We must practise our democracy the right way. This demands tolerance of alternative viewpoints and the right of opposition parties and interests to be heard without harassment and intimidation.

We call on Bago and other highly-placed political officeholders to refrain from impunity and always follow the law. Also, the NBC should look into the allegations against the radio station and do the needful.

The media must be free to perform their constitutional role!

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