Niger governor asks NBC to revoke Badeggi FM licence over alleged incitement of violence

• Governor Bago alleged Badeggi FM incited public unrest and ordered police to seal the station pending further actions.
• The governor also directed the profiling of the station’s owner, accusing him of promoting violence against the government.

The governor of Niger state, Umar Bago, has ordered the commissioner of police to seal Badeggi FM radio station in Minna.

Governor Bago alleged that the radio station had been inciting violence against the state government through its broadcasts.

The directive was issued on Friday during a meeting with stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress at the government house in Minna.

The chief press secretary, Bologi Ibrahim, said in a statement that the “daily activities of the radio station have been unethical”.

“Governor Bago also accused the owner of the station of incitement of the people against the government and directed that the licence of the radio station be revoked,” the statement reads.

The governor instructed the commissioner for homeland security and the commissioner of police to enforce the closure of the station.

He also emphasised that security agencies should profile the owner of the radio station, alleging that the station was promoting violence.

Badeggi Radio 90.1 FM, according to its website, is a private station established in 2020 by Shuaibu Badeggi.

Despite the governor’s directive, legal experts have noted that Bago lacks the authority to order the shutdown of a radio station.

They explained that issues related to the broadcast content of radio stations fall under the jurisdiction of the National Broadcasting Commission.