A media rights group, Media Rights Agenda (MRA), has condemned the closure of a private radio station based in Minna, Badegi 90.1 FM, on the orders of the governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago. The group describes the action as an assault on broadcasting freedom.
It called on the governor to reopen the station and also apologise for the closure.
Governor Bago reportedly ordered the state commissioner of police to seal off the station for alleged incitement of violence and directed that the license of the radio station be revoked, according to a statement by the governor’s chief press secretary, Mr Bologi Ibrahim.
In the statement, Mr Ibrahim claimed that the “daily activities of the radio station have been unethical,” adding that “Governor Bago also accused the owner of the station of inciting the people against the government.”
In a statement describing the government’s action as undemocratic, MRA’s programme officer, Mr John Gbadamosi, noted that criticism of the government is not a crime as it is integral to any functioning democracy.
He added that broadcasting is a constitutional right and duty imposed on the media by Section 22 of the Constitution.
In any event, he argued, the governor lacks any constitutional or statutory authority to order the closure of any broadcast station in Nigeria or the revocation of the broadcasting license of any broadcast media organisation.
Mr Gbadamosi said, “The governor’s action amounts to an abuse of his office and a clear breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers under the 1999 Constitution, as amended, particularly Paragraph 9 of the Code.”
He maintained that if the governor fails to reverse the directives, “we will take appropriate action to ensure that he is held accountable for this violation of the constitutional right to freedom of expression and the corollary rights of the people in the state to receive ideas and information.”
Citing the provisions of Paragraph 9 of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, which states that, “A public officer shall not do or direct to be done, in abuse of his office, any arbitrary act prejudicial to the rights of any other person knowing that such act is unlawful or contrary to any government policy”, he noted that there is no doubt that the Governor’s actions amount to a violation of the code as he has no authority to order the shutting down of the station or the revocation of its license.
According to him, Governor Bago knows or ought to know that he has no power to shut down any radio station or to direct the revocation of its license, as the regulation of broadcasting in Nigeria is not under his control or authority. He added that by nonetheless purporting to exercise powers and authority which he does not have, in violation of the rights of the owners and staff of the radio station as well as the access to information rights of all the residents of the state who receive news and information from the station, the governor has abused his statutory powers.
Mr Gbadamosi stated that although the governor’s actions clearly indicate that he wants only government-owned media outlets to praise him, he must curtail such desires and be prepared to tolerate criticisms.
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