Managers of the four radio stations in Bawku which were shut down by the National Communications Authority (NCA) have said the manner in which the regulator carried out the exercise as unfair, unconstitutional and disappointing.
The affected radio stations are Bawku FM, Source FM, Zahra FM and Gumah FM.
Two days after the NCA shut down operations of the stations in the company of armed military officers, managers of the affected stations have asked the regulator to present evidence to back their action.
They are also calling on the National Media Commission and the Ghana Journalists Association to intervene in the matter which they describe as a threat to media plurality.
The National Communications Authority on the afternoon of Saturday February 24, led about 40 armed military officers to close down four radio stations in the Bawku municipality. The move followed recommendations by the Upper East Regional Security Council and guidance from the Ministry of National Security stemming from concerns about the use of inflammatory remarks by presenters and panelists of the stations which have reportedly contributed to the escalation of the age-long Bawku Chieftaincy conflict.
The closure of the radio stations was met with commendations from residents of the Upper East Region, some of whom had raised concerns about the level of unprofessionalism and insanity on the airwaves of radio stations in the troubled town.
But speaking to TV3 a day after the closure, managers of the affected radio stations have said although the NCA is empowered by the constitution to sanitize the airwaves, the style in which the regulator closed down the stations left much to be desired.
Gumah Nurudeen, manager of Gumah FM, said the closure of his radio station came as a surprise as the station was neither written to about any wrongdoing nor given an opportunity to explain. He stated that the NCA failed to present any evidence of inflammatory utterances made on his network to back its claims before going ahead to cut their transmission.
Kimsah Salamatu Abdul-Latif, the manager of Source FM, who was not around when the task force arrived at his radio station to shut it down, said his outfit was equally not informed of any wrongdoing by the NCA.
According to him, his radio station has been conducting transmission ethically, devoid of any form of hate speech and incitement in respect to the Bawku conflict.
For his part, the manager of Bawku Fm, Aputiah Jambeidu, said the position of the Ministry of National Security and RESEG that radio stations in Bawku were drivers of the conflict was a wrong diagnosis of the insecurity situation.
According to him, the conflict had long persisted before the establishment of the radio stations in the town. He also dared the NCA to come out with evidence to back their action.
Meanwhile, the managers of the affected radio stations have been invited to an engagement with the NCA and RESEG in Bolgatanga.
By Senyala Castro