The recent closure of five electronic media stations in Zamfara State will be remembered for some time as a veritable example of governorship excess that does irreparable damage to freedom of expression, and tolerance in political culture. Even though the media houses have since been reopened, the damage is already done. Whatever the excuse may be, Governor Bello Matawalle was trying to coerce the civic space in Zamfara ahead of the crucial 2023 general election in which he is seeking a second term in office.

It all started when the Zamfara State Commissioner for Information, Ibrahim Dosara announced the closure of Nigeria Television Authority’s (NTA) Gusau station, Prime FM station owned by Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Gamji TV, Vision FM and Al Umma TV. Dosara accused the media houses of “breaking the laws of journalism.” Acting on the authority of the ‘State Security Council’, Dosara also directed the police “to arrest anyone who ignores this order” that suspends all political activities in the state on grounds of fighting insecurity. Meanwhile, what the media houses did was to cover an event where the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in the state, Dauda Lawal Dare received people who left other parties for his.

The International Press Institute (IPI) Nigeria condemned the ban as “reprehensible and unacceptable.” Its president, Musikilu Mojeed said the ban “violates the 1999 Constitution as amended and has no place in a civilised society like ours.” If media houses had breached the law, Mojeed added, “Zamfara State government should approach the court for redress” instead of resorting to self-help. The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) also condemned the action as overriding the constitution and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) code. Similarly, the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) described the media stations’ closure as “unlawful and unconstitutional.” No state government has the right to shut any media house, the editors charged. To the International Press Centre (IPC), the action of the Zamfara governor was unacceptable because it “violates the rule of law”. IPC’s Executive Director, Lanre Arogundade said closure of the media outlets was another attempt to stifle press freedom in the country. “It is not within the powers of the Governor or his agents to carry out such duties”, he said. And in faulting Matawalle’s action, theNBC Director-General, Balarabe Illela demanded an immediate reversal. Illela also asked Matawalle to apologise to the people while urging security agencies to ignore calls that circumscribe the rights of journalists.

Following this barrage of criticisms, Matawalle finally caved in, but not before justifying the reckless decision. The government, according to Abdullahi Shinkafi, chairman of the state’s committee on Prosecution of Banditry and Related Offences was angered by a violation of an executive order and that the “illegal political gathering” led to a security breach where “one man was shot dead and 18 others were injured.”

Although this matter has been resolved with the removal of security forces deployed to the media houses, we join in the condemnation of Matawalle’s ill-conceived and precipitate action. While the governor has a duty to take necessary measures to combat banditry that has been ravaging his state, he does not have the power to take the law into his own hands. And as we move deeper into the campaign season, all state governors in the country should learn lessons from this debacle.

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