The Social Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against Umar Bago, the governor of Niger State, and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) for the ongoing harassment of Badeggi Radio 90.1 FM, a private radio station, in the state.
SERAP announced on Sunday that it and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) filed the suit against the state government and the NBC on Friday at the Federal High Court in Lagos.
The suit came on the heels of Bago’s threats to strip the radio station of its licence, seal it and also demolish its premises. The governor claimed that the radio station had been “inciting violence” within the state with its broadcasts.
READ MORE: Badeggi Radio Aired 3 Programmes About Govt Shortcomings in Niger. Gov Bago Sealed Station Shut
READ ALSO: SERAP Tells Tinubu to Share Details of Alison-Madueke $52.88m Recovered Asset Deal
In the suit marked ‘FHC/L/CS/1587/2025’, the civil rights group is asking that the court issue a permanent order restraining Bago and the NBC from revoking Badeggi FM’s licence.
It also demands that the court issue a declaration confirming that the NBC must protect Badeggi FM and all other radio stations in Nigeria and whether the commission has the legal duty to protect the station from the governor’s harassment.
It further said that the radio station must be protected as the media must remain an instrument of free speech and information.
The group fears that the governor is trying to crack down on opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“The media plays an essential role as a vehicle or instrument for the exercise of freedom of expression and information, in its individual and collective aspects, in a democratic society,” SERAP noted.
“Intimidating, harassing and silencing critical or dissenting voices under the guise of vague and unsubstantiated national security concerns is a fundamental breach of the Nigerian Constitution and Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.
READ ALSO: SERAP Takes Tinubu, FG to ECOWAS Court for Withholding Forensic Report on Missing N6trn
“Intimidating, harassing and silencing Badeggi FM and its owner would have a chilling effect on the protection of freedom of expression and media freedom across several states.
“The ongoing intimidation, harassment, and threat to arbitrarily revoke the station’s licence, unlawfully demolish its premises and profile its owner are all clearly antithetical to the requirements of the Nigerian Constitution and the country’s international human rights obligations.”
Bago, on August 1, directed the State Commissioner of Police and Commissioner for Homeland Security to seal the station, confiscate its licence and profile its owner.
The post SERAP Asks Court to Stop Bago, NBC From Shutting Down Badeggi FM appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.