SILENCING THE WATCHDOG: Niger State As Case Study In Press Freedom Violations
SILENCING THE WATCHDOG: Niger State As Case Study In Press Freedom Violations
SILENCING THE WATCHDOG: Niger State As Case Study In Press Freedom ViolationsBy Robert Niro
In the quiet city of Minna, the capital of Niger State, a pervasive cloud looms over journalists who dare to pose challenging questions.
This cloud is filled with names, dates, locations, assaults, arrests, shutdowns, and threats.
Between November 2023 and March 2026, a period of just twenty-eight months, at least seven recorded attacks on journalists and media outlets have taken place in Niger State.
The culprits are not unknown attackers or anonymous crowds. They are the very individuals who pledged to safeguard citizens.
This story is about power, impunity, and the gradual decline of the fourth estate in a Nigerian state.
THE CHRONOLOGY OF SILENCE
November 2023: Inside Government House
Mustapha Batsari, a Voice of America (VOA) correspondent, entered the state Government House in Minna to report on an official event. He was performing his duties, carrying a recording device, asking questions, and documenting the actions of public officials.
Instead of protection, he faced assault.
According to the International Press Institute (IPI), it was Major General Bello Mohammed Abdullahi (rtd), the state Commissioner for Homeland Security, who attacked and threatened Batsari on the spot.
December 2024: The Missing Way
A year later, the approach shifted from physical assault to intimidation. Yakubu Mustapha Bina submitted a routine report about the governor’s convoy losing its way during a rural tour. It was a minor detail in a broader story.
However, the Niger State office of the State Security Service (SSS) viewed it differently. Bina was summoned and questioned about the report.
May 2025: The Question About Bandits
If the first two incidents served as warnings, the events of May 2025 marked an escalation. Ibrahim Ndamitso, a freelance journalist, posed a legitimate question to the governor regarding a kidnapping incident on the Kontagora–Minna Road.
Governor Bago’s response was not an answer but an accusation. He publicly accused Ndamitso of “working with bandits” and handed him over to the police for profiling. With that single statement, the governor labeled a journalist as a criminal collaborator, endangering his life.
August–November 2025: The Death of Badeggi FM
The most audacious attack occurred when Badeggi 90.1 FM, a private radio station in Minna, airing content critical of the governor’s administration. In August, Governor Bago ordered its closure. He threatened to revoke the station’s license, demolish its premises, and profile its owner, Shuaibu Badeggi.
The closure was arbitrary. No court order. No due process. Just the decree of a governor displeased with what he was hearing.
IPI took notice, as did the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP). By November, SERAP and NGE filed a lawsuit against the Niger State Government and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), requesting the Federal High Court to determine whether the NBC had a legal obligation to shield Badeggi FM from the governor’s intimidation.
Although the station was eventually reopened following widespread criticism, the message was clear to every journalist: your voice can be silenced at the discretion of a single individual.
February 2026: The Cybercrime Trap
By early 2026 the pattern was evident, yet the strategies continued to change. Ahmed Isah Sakpe, a journalist with Prestige FM in Minna, released a press statement about the political turmoil in the Niger South Senatorial District. The statement was purportedly from a youth group, not Sakpe himself.
A protocol officer associated with Governor Bago lodged a complaint. The Niger State Police Command summoned Sakpe on February 16, 2026, and subsequently detained him. The accusations? Cyberbullying, spreading falsehoods, and defamation of character.
The cybercrime law initially intended to shield citizens from online threats had turned into a means of silencing journalists covering political issues.
March 13, 2026: The Palace Assault
The latest incident occurred just a few days ago. Musa Mikail, a senior reporter with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), was reporting on a Ramadan Iftar event at the palace of the Etsu Nupe in Bida.
Mikail was performing his duties with his camera when Shehu Abdullahi Maikano the Chief Security Officer (CSO) to Governor Bago approached and instructed them to move. “I explained that we were not obstructing anyone and were fulfilling our professional responsibilities,” Mikail later recounted.
“Despite this, he pushed me, and other security personnel forced me out of the event.”
The assault occurred in the palace of a traditional leader. The assailant was the governor’s own CSO the individual responsible for safeguarding the governor and those around him. It happened in front of witnesses, in broad daylight.
A PATTERN EMERGES
When the seven incidents are examined together, a pattern emerges that cannot be overlooked.
From assault to SSS invitation to public accusation to radio closure to cybercrime detention to CSO assault, each incident signifies a new level of hostility.
None of the seven incidents involves a random attacker. The perpetrators are prominent public officials: the Commissioner for Homeland Security, the governor himself, the Nigeria Police Force, and the governor’s Chief Security Officer. Individuals entrusted with the protection of citizens.
As of March 2026, none of these incidents has led to prosecution. No charges have been filed. No convictions have been made. No one has faced any repercussions. Impunity prevails.
THE LAW AND THE VIOLATIONS
Barrister Ibrahim Wali, when contacted, elaborated on the constitutional aspects.
Section 22 assigns the media a specific constitutional duty: “The press, radio, television and other agencies of the mass media shall at all times be free to uphold the fundamental objectives contained in this Constitution and uphold the responsibility and accountability of the Government to the people.”
Section 39(1) affirms: “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which includes the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and share ideas and information without interference.”
Section 34 upholds the right to human dignity. When a journalist is physically attacked or publicly branded as a “bandit collaborator,” that dignity is compromised.
When journalists in Niger State face assault, detention, and silencing, Nigeria breaches not only its own Constitution but also its binding international commitments under the African Charter and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
THE QUESTION THAT REMAINS
Seven recorded attacks. Three years. No prosecutions. The file on Niger State keeps expanding. Each incident represents a story, a life disrupted. Yet, behind the documentation lies an unanswered question: Who will put an end to this? IPI has listed Governor Bago in the Book of Infamy. SERAP and NGE have initiated legal action.
Vice President Shettima has pledged engagement. The Inspector General of Police has been urged to investigate the assault on Musa Mikail. But the pattern persists. In November 2023, it was Mustapha Batsari. In December 2024, Yakubu Mustapha Bina.
In May 2025, Ibrahim Ndamitso. In August 2025, Badeggi FM. In February 2026, Ahmed Isah Sakpe. In March 2026, Musa Mikail.
The names change, the tactics shift, but the narrative remains unchanged: a government that views journalists not as allies in democracy but as adversaries to be silenced.
The Nigerian Constitution asserts that journalists have the right to work without interference. The African Charter echoes this. The International Covenant echoes this. Yet, in Niger State, these documents have proven inadequate.
The law exists on paper but what is lacking is enforcement, what is lacking is accountability, what is lacking is the simple reality that when a Chief Security Officer assaults a journalist, he will face consequences. Until that changes, the file will continue to grow. And the question will remain unanswered.
