BY BEN OGBEMUDIA
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Sunday strongly condemned recent actions by Governor Umar Bago of Niger State.
The party said that this development revealed a disturbing pattern of executive overreach, disdain for constitutional rights, and a steady erosion of democratic norms under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Governor Bago’s decision to shut down Badeggi FM “with immediate effect” was described as a brazen assault on press freedom and a violation of the rule of law.
“We recall the recent declaration by the APC governor of Edo State, Monday Okpebholo, making the Labour Party presidential candidate persona non grata in Edo.
Now this—another APC governor, this time from Niger State—has clamped down on a private radio station, in a manner reminiscent of military dictatorship.
Governor Bago must be reminded that he was elected by these same people whose truth he now finds so uncomfortable that he is willing to silence them.
Liberal democracy guarantees freedoms—speech, association, and movement. Under our Constitution, no one has the power to truncate these freedoms arbitrarily.
If the radio station breached any regulation, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC)—under Section 2(1)(b) of the NBC Act—has the sole authority to address it, not a state governor.
By criminalising dissent and pronouncing citizens guilty of treason for simply broadcasting uncomfortable truths, Governor Bago has undermined the very Constitution he swore to uphold.
Today it is Badeggi FM. Tomorrow it could be a newspaper, a social media platform, or a journalist asking the ‘wrong’ questions. This is how autocracy begins—not with tanks in the streets, but with microphones being seized and studios being bulldozed.”
The ADC demanded the immediate unsealing of Badeggi FM, an independent probe into the incident, and stronger legislative safeguards to protect press freedom in Nigeria.