NIGERIA’S state-run radio has banned its stations nationwide from broadcasting rap music, considered immoral by Muslim and Christian conservatives. A directive from the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) asked all broadcasters to note that “rap music is banned in all FRCN stations”. The directive, which was issued in October, violates the rights of young Nigerians to hear music of their choice, said the civil liberties group the Civil Rights Congress which sent the directive, along with a protest letter addressed to the radio station. Rap is widely played on private radio stations operating in the southern Nigerian city of Lagos but is rarely heard outside the city, where state-run radios have a near monopoly on broadcasts. – AFP