The Arewa Broadcast Media Practitioners Forum (ABMPF) has threatened to boycott all official activities of the Niger State Government in protest against the shutting down of the Badeggi FM, an act it describes as continued harassment and suppression of press freedom in the state.
This stance follows the controversial shutdown order issued by Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago against Badeggi FM, a privately owned radio station in Minna. According to ABMPF Chairman Abdullahi Yelwa, the station remains operational despite what he termed the Governor’s “illegal orders.”
Speaking after a meeting with Badeggi FM’s Chief Executive Officer, Mohammed Shuaibu Badeggi, Yelwa alleged that the state government was using its powers to harass and intimidate the station in an attempt to muzzle free expression.
“The Governor has no authority to shut down any National Broadcasting Commission (NBC)-licensed station,” Yelwa said, commending both the NBC and the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris Malagi, for standing firm against what he called an unconstitutional move.
He warned that if the harassment continues, the Forum would have no choice but to direct all its members across Niger State to disengage from all government activities.
“In a period marked by insecurity and growing poverty, those in authority must be more tolerant of dissenting voices and realize that they govern on behalf of the people, not themselves,” he added.
The Forum also criticized the pattern of media patronage by northern governors, accusing them of favouring media houses in the Lagos-Ibadan axis over indigenous northern outlets. “Billions are spent annually on Southwest media while our local stations are left to die. Those who survive, like Badeggi FM, face daily threats,” the statement read.
Yelwa called on all ABMPF member stations experiencing intimidation to report such incidents to the Forum’s secretariat for collective action against what it described as a dangerous trend.
“The media is not the enemy, but a mirror of society. It’s time our leaders embraced a new attitude towards the press,” he concluded.
