SERAP may sue FG for banning Eedris Abdulkareem song

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has threatened to file a lawsuit against the Federal Government and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) for banning veteran musician Eedris Abdulkareem’s newly released song, “Tell Your Papa”.

SERAP condemned the ban as an unjustifiable restriction on artistic freedom, asserting that the song’s discussion of pressing national issues, such as economic hardship, is a legitimate exercise of the artist’s right to free expression.

The organization urged the President Bola Tinubu-led administration and NBC to reverse the ban on Abdulkareem’s single within 48 hours, warning that failure to comply would prompt the organization to consider pursuing legal action.

SERAPS’s 48-hour ultimatum came barely 24 hours after NBC criticized the song while banning the National Broadcasting Commission and the Nigerian radio and TV stations from airing Eedris Abdulkareem’s new single.

In a memo signed by the Coordinating Director of Broadcast Monitoring, Susan Obi, the commission declared the song Not To Be Broadcasted, citing Section 3.1.8 of the Nigerian Broadcasting Code, which prohibits materials deemed offensive or against public decency.

SERAP, in the letter shared on its official social media pages, threatened to sue the President Bola Tinubu-led administration and NBC if immediate action is not taken to lift the ban.

It said, ” The Tinubu administration must immediately reverse the unlawful ban by the National Broadcasting Commission, stopping Nigerian radio and TV stations from airing Eedris Abdulkareem’s new single. We’ll see in court if the ban is not reversed within 48 hours”.

Earlier, Amnesty International described the Federal Government’s action against the singer as bizarre, adding that it is an abuse of power and unacceptable.

According to the human rights organization, the ban highlighted the need to urgently repeal heavy censorship regulations of NBC that have been used to curb freedom of expression in the country.

“This clampdown on artistic freedom is an appalling reminder that artists are at the risk of being silenced. Nothing can justify suffocating creative freedom”

“It is not too late for President Bola Tinubu’s government to withdraw the ban, which will have the sad repercussion of promoting censorship and generating a new wave of fear of repression,” it added.