Amnesty International has berated the governor of Niger State, Umar Bago, for ordering the closure of Badeggi 90.1 FM Radio Minna.

The group described the call for the station’s license to be revoked as an abuse of power and unacceptable intolerance of critical voices.

In a statement posted on X on Saturday, the group insisted that the decision to shut the radio station was wrong and unjustified.

The statement reads, “The governor’s claim that the radio station is causing violence and his careless order to cancel its license show an abuse of power and a refusal to accept criticism.

“The decision to shut down the radio station is wrong and cannot be justified.

“While bandits and insurgents are ravaging the Niger state through killings and massive displacements of rural communities, with both the federal government and Niger state failing to protect lives, pointing accusing fingers at a radio station clearly shows a failure of leadership.

“The attack on Badeggi 90.1 FM is part of a growing trend aimed at creating fear in newsrooms across Nigeria and making it more difficult for journalists to do their work.”

The group called on Governor Bago to uphold media freedom and allow independent voices to operate without fear.

“Governor Bago must immediately withdraw his unlawful order. Under Nigerian laws, the governor has no power to order the shutdown of a radio station. Choosing to bizarrely blame a radio station for the inexcusable security failures of the government is an open attack on media freedom,” the group added.

According to Amnesty, targeting independent media is a way of denying people access to honest and balanced news about the issues that affect their daily lives.

Recall that on Thursday, Governor Bago ordered the closure of the private radio station over alleged incitement of violence and unethical practices.