BY OLANREWAJU AGIRI
A fan, Adepoju Adedapo Adedamola, has written a petition to the Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Abuja, complaining against Fresh FM Ibadan, a broadcast station under your regulatory oversight, for airing content that flagrantly violates the National Broadcasting Code, the NBC Act (Cap N11 LFN 2004), and other extant laws governing broadcasting in Nigeria.
Adepoju, living at number 5, Barika Street, Ibadan, Oyo State, in a letter dated October 13, 2025, titled “Re: Urgent Complaint Regarding Incitement to Violence and Dissemination of False Information on Fresh FM Ibadan (105.9 FM)—Program ‘E Gba Sawon’ Aired on October 13, 2025, Between 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM; Anchor: Obadare Oladosu (Oba Sports),” said the action directly contradicted the official verdict and sanctions imposed by the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).
The fan, who claimed to be a victim of the very incident, as he was personally assaulted by enraged fans at the Sani Abacha Stadium in Kano during the post-match chaos, averred that the broadcast not only trivializes a grave act of hooliganism but also actively insinuates and promotes violence as an acceptable response to sporting frustrations.
In a similar development, the management of Shooting Stars Sports Club has also written the management of Fresh FM in a letter addressed to the General Manager of the station titled ‘Petition Against Unprofessional Conduct of Your Presenter—Mr. Obadare Oladosu’ and the letter was made available to newsmen in Ibadan.
The letter, signed by Shooting Stars’ Chief Operating Officer, expressed serious worry and extreme unhappiness with the sports presenter’s “unprofessional conduct” and made four demands to management.
The four things below were the requests of 3SC from the Fresh FM. “1. Management has launched an internal investigation into Mr. Obadare Oladosu’s actions on the aforementioned program. 2. Management should give an official warning and take appropriate disciplinary action to ensure that such behavior does not occur again. 3. Coaching and retraining their sports desk presenters to comply with journalistic ethics and the provisions of the NBC Code. 4. A public retraction or apology will be aired on-air by the presenter and/or the station.
“Please note that while we value constructive criticism and media independence, we will not tolerate consistent attacks, misrepresentation, or incitement against our club, players, or officials. If such actions persist, we will be left with no options but to pursue legal redress against the said individual and all parties deemed complicit,” the statement reads in part.
