Safer-Media Initiative (SMI) has issued a strong condemnation against the directive by Governor Umar Bago of Niger State to seal Badeggi FM 90.1, describing the move as unconstitutional and an abuse of executive authority.
The radio station, privately owned and established in 2020 by Shuaibu Badeggi, was ordered shut during an All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders’ meeting at the government house in Minna on Friday.
Governor Bago accused the station of unethical broadcasting and inciting public unrest, directing the Commissioner for Homeland Security and the Commissioner of Police to enforce the closure and profile its founder.
In response, SMI emphasized that under Nigerian law, only the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has the legal mandate to suspend or revoke broadcast licenses.
The initiative denounced the governor’s action as “a bypass of regulatory institutions” and “a violation of democratic principles protecting freedom of expression and media independence.”
“This represents a dangerous precedent of executive impunity,” the group stated. It called on the NBC to intervene, reaffirm its exclusive regulatory role, and launch an investigation into the unlawful directive.
SMI further urged civil society organizations to stand against media repression and demanded that security agencies reject unconstitutional orders and uphold the rule of law.
Executive Director of Safer-Media Initiative, Peter Iorter, described the directive as reckless and damaging to public trust.
Iorter said: “Silencing dissent through illegal means is not governance—it is intimidation. We demand accountability and the immediate reversal of this order.”
SMI reaffirmed its commitment to protecting journalistic independence and warned against political interference in media operations.
“A free press is not the enemy of the state, it is the lifeline of democracy,” the statement concluded.
