Resolving the Tide of Media House Demolitions -By Ben Ndedde

An uncertain cloud has enveloped the Nigerian democratic space with nationwide spate of governors on rampage with executive rascality through media house demolitions. They cannot with stand the press as the forth realm of governance. Someone has said that we keep crying for foreign investors while killing our in-house opportunities because those investments would have been protected in Europe rather than get destroyed with loss of the already lean employment opportunities.

In a dictatorial move, a state governor recently demolished an opponent’s property in Kaduna.

Also, Vanguard news reported that the governor of Nasarawa demolished a building housing a radio station, in what was said to be for violating the state planning laws and the governor’s information commissioner claiming that the neighborhood was disturbed by radio active frequency from the mast!

According to vanguard news, “Governor Umaru Al-Makura of Nasarawa state [has] directed the demolished Breeze 99.9 FM to pay fine, effectively ruling out the payment of compensation to the management of the private radio”.

The station reacted condemning it as witch hunt and has threatened to go to court to challenge the action which it said was a reaction to its insistence on reporting the ongoing workers strike.

As though this condemnable trend is a call to copy and paste, the latest one is the news from Oyo State.

News that the Oyo State government recently took the law into its hands and ordered the demolition of the building of Fresh FM, the business of music maestro, Yinka Ayefele in Oyo State while a case is pending in court.

Ben Ndedde

In his reaction, a Legal Practitioner and right activist, Mr. Ben Ndedde- Chairman of Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP), Akwa Ibom State Chapter who also doubles as Legal Adviser of NBA, Eket Branch has this to say:

“Governors like that of Oyo State would assume that even if the ranks of the judiciary would eventually overturn and condemn such rascality and order redress for the victim of the demolition and order payment of damages, that such damages will be recoverable from the government purse.

I [believe] strongly that there should be a way of getting an executive head- like the governor himself-to personally loose something from his assets or individual account- even if the case outlasts his tenure-for his recklessness rather than have Oyo tax payers’ money ameliorate this reckless abuse of power.

That is how the law ought to work!

All well meaning Nigerians must condemn this act.
The Oyo State Governor is to be held personally liable and his government indicted for this action!

Once a personal liability request is inserted in the suit to redress the matter and the court pronounces on it, this should tame such executive recklessness nationwide”.