THE Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) have filed a suit against the Niger State Governor, Umar Bago, over the alleged threat to shut down a private radio station in the state, Badeggi FM Radio.
In the suit, marked FHC/L/CS/1587/2025, and filed on Friday, August 8, 2025, at the Federal High Court, Lagos, SERAP and NGE sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining the governor and NBC from further harassing, intimidating, and/or threatening to shut down Badeggi FM radio, revoke its licence, and profile the station’s owner.
“Unless the reliefs sought are granted, the governor will continue to threaten, intimidate, and harass the radio station and its owner and may weaponise the NBC against the station,” they were quoted as saying in a post shared by SERAP on its X handle on Sunday.
They asked the court to determine “whether by Section 22 of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and Section 2(1)(t) of the NBC Act, the NBC has the legal duty to protect Badeggi FM from the ongoing intimidation from the governor”.
They also asked the court for “a declaration that by the combined provisions of Section 22 of the Constitution and Section 2(1)(t) of the NBC Act, the NBC has the legal duty to protect Badeggi FM station and other broadcasting outlets in Nigeria from any threat, intimidation and harassment”.
In the suit, SERAP and NGE argued that “the failure and/or neglect of the NBC to protect and defend the independence of Badeggi FM radio against arbitrary executive interference and ongoing intimidation constitutes a breach of its statutory duty to ensure fair, independent, and lawful broadcasting practices in Nigeria”.
They argued that “the ongoing intimidation, and threat by Mr Bago to strip Badeggisa FM station of its licence, further threat to demolish the station’s premises and profile its owner is unlawful and a violation of the rights to freedom of expression, access to information, and media freedom”.
According to them, “the allegations of inciting violence against Badeggi FM and its owner are vague, unfounded and unsubstantiated and apparently made to silence the radio station”.
The suit read in part, “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.
“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.
“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.”
The governor had ordered the immediate revocation of the operational licence of Badegi Radio station, accusing the privately owned station of consistently inciting the public against the state government through its broadcasts.
Bago issued the order during an expanded All Progressives Congress (APC) Caucus meeting held at the Hauwa Wali Multipurpose Hall in Government House, Minna.
According to him, such conduct was not only unprofessional but a deliberate attempt to destabilise the current administration’s efforts under the New Niger Development Agenda.