Akure — A few months after Channels Television suffered a similar fate, Adaba 88.9 FM, a private radio station located in Akure, Ondo State capital, has been shut.

A combined force of security operatives acting on "orders from above" was said to have effected the closure of the station yesterday.

The country's broadcast regulator, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), closed down the station for its alleged failure to pay a N500,000 fine imposed on it by the commission.

NBC had alleged that during the coverage of the last April 25, 2009 governorship rerun in Ekiti State, the station had broadcast materials "that were capable of inciting members of the public to violence and consequently leading to breakdown of law and order."

For that reason, the commission had slammed a fine of N500,000 on the station.

NBC's Head of Public Affairs Awwalu Salihu said in a statement that Adaba FM's broadcast of 9.30 am (local time) of April 25, 2009 violated Sections 3.1.2 and 1.4.4 of the Nigerian Broadcasting Code, adding that the commission gave the station until May 8 to pay up or "face higher sanction".

The letter of sanction was reportedly handed over to the Acting General Manager of the station, Mr. Joseph Alake, in the afternoon of 27 April.

The commission stressed its "determination to ensure that broadcasting stations play their indispensable role according to the rules of the game to ensure fairness and peace in the nation's political process."

The statement spoke of the commission's determination to ensure that broadcasting stations play their role according to the rules of the game to ensure fairness and peace in the nation's political process.

But the inciting material was said to be an interview with some Action Congress (AC) leaders, one of the major parties in the governorship rerun.

The order for the closure of the station came via a letter directing the management of Adaba 88.9 FM to close operations with immediate effect as the deadline given it to pay had expired last Friday.

According to a source within the establishment, the imposition of the fine did not follow due process because the organisation was never queried before it was fined.

The source said in line with the NBC rule, an erring organisation must first be queried before any sanction is imposed.

However, the management of the station had decided to take NBC to court for its action, saying the matter should not just go unchallenged.

Meanwhile, NBC has received knocks for its action.

Afenifere Renewal Group condemned what it called the new wave of media harassment by the Yar'Adua government.

According to a statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the group, Yinka Odumakin, "This jackboot tactics is a throw-back to the dark days of the Abacha military dictatorship, which made attacks on the independent media and opposition forces its pastime. That a civilian government that prides itself in the 'rule of law' is behaving like a junta shows that the orchestrated democratic crisis created by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is forcing the government to show its true colours."

The group called for the immediate re-opening of the station.

Adaba Radio covers about seven states in the South-west and North-central parts of the country and freely reports activities by people in government and the opposition.

However, it has been at the receiving end of several complaints and insinuations from PDP.

For instance, the party had last week called for the immediate arrest of former Governor Ayodele Fayose and AC governorship candidate in Ekiti, Dr Kayode Fayemi, for allegedly inciting people into violence.

The party had also commended NBC for sanctioning Adaba FM radio station.

In a statement issued by the Chairman, Media and Publicity Secretary of the Segun Oni Campaign Organization (SOCO), Prince Dayo Adeyeye, in Ado Ekiti, the party had alleged that Fayose on the evening of election day, mobilised suspected thugs to barricade roads leading to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) collation centre in Ado Ekiti, creating tension and threatening the lives of the INEC officials.

Adeyeye said: "Fayose on Sunday, the day after election encouraged his thugs to make burn-fire on the road so as to create a false impression that the people are not happy with the conduct of the election.

"On Monday, Dr Kayode Fayemi, AC gubernatorial candidate and other AC leaders, sent text messages to Action Congress members in Ekiti State, urging them to embark on demonstration, arson and violent protest so as to reduce the state into a state of chaos and anarchy to achieve general confusion and a state of emergency.

"We call on security agencies to check on major service providers, calling for records of messages on Fayemi's phone and that of other AC leaders to verify our claim.

"Fayose again, on Monday, went to Adaba 88.9FM, a station in Akure owned by Mr Bola Tinubu, the leader of AC. For almost two hours he brazenly incited the people and kept urging them to reject the results of the just concluded election.

"Fayose has consistently used the same station to severally disparage the person of Mr President and consistently call for violence through the station."

Channels TV was shut on September 17, 2008 for airing a news material alleging that President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua would resign from office on health grounds.

The news was wrong for which Channels apologized 10 minutes after it aired it.

But the Federal Government shut down the station while the State Security Services (SS) hounded Editors of the station for days before Channels was eventually opened.

Leadership Newspaper based in Abuja also got its own dose of repression from the government when the newspaper published a story on Yar'Adua's alleged ill-health. The story, however, contained some factual errors for which the newspaper instantly apologized but that did not stop the hounding of the newspaper and its editors.

A case later instituted by the Federal Government against Leadership newspaper over the matter is still running in court.