The Northern Broadcast Media Owners Association (NBMOA) on Sunday commended the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission’s (NBC’s) steadfast and timely intervention on the order of Governor Bello Matawalle to shut down some media Houses in Zamfara State.
The group, in a statement by the Acting Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Yelwa, in Sokoto on Sunday, chided Matawalle for the shocking order.
The Northern Broadcast Media Owners Association (NBMOA) had declared: “The job of the media world over is constitutionally guaranteed, just as the right of the citizens to freely express themselves.
“Therefore, the directive of the state government for the police to deny journalists access to their places of work is not only wrong, but also unconstitutional.”
NBMOA emphasised that the Nigerian press survived the evil of colonialism and the dark and draconian days of military rule.
The group, therefore stated: “It is ironic, therefore, for it to now be threatened with closure under the democratic dispensation it had helped to bequeath.
“The press will continue to uphold its obligations to be free, fair and balanced and open its doors to all political parties and shades of opinions in accordance with the law.
“We, therefore, salute the courage of the Zamfara Police Command for refusing to carry out the ‘unlawful’ order to harass the media in the state.”
The group also commended the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) that similarly condemned the directive, while appealing to the police to offer more protection to working journalists.
NBMOA assured all political parties in the north of its readiness to provide level-playing field for the promotion of democratic culture in Nigeria.