NDC condemns alleged attack on Citi FM Journalists

• Posted on May 17, 2021May 17, 2021
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has added its voice to the growing number of condemnations against the alleged arrest and assault on two journalists of Accra based Citi Fm/CitiTV by National Security Operatives.

In a statement signed by its General Secretary, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the NDC said the alleged attack on Mr Caleb Kudah and the harassment of Mrs Zoe Abu-Baidoo Addo formed part of what it described as a culture of impunity under the Akufo-Addo administration.

It mentioned the recent alleged attack on the Ashanti Regional Security Coordinator by some persons believed to be part of a vigilante group and the presence of military men on the floor of Parliament during the election of a Speaker of Parliament to drive home its point.

“The genesis of these trends is not hard to identify: the needless invasion by state-sponsored vigilantes of the voting process during the Ayawaso Bye-election in January 2019, the virtual militarisation of the registration of voters last year and the unprecedented violence that accompanied the election proper last December, culminating in the untimely death of eight innocent Ghanaian citizens,” the NDC said.

Rule of law

In the estimation of the NDC, the attack on the two journalists showed that the Akufo-Addo led administration had failed to uphold the rule of law.

“The continued presence of Deputy Superintendent of Police, Samuel Kojo Azugu, in the National Security apparatus and the brutish conduct of Lt Colonel Agyemang fly totally in the face of the solemn recommendations of the Emile Short Commission of Inquiry,” the NDC said.

Don’t be quiet

The largest opposition party urged Ghanaians not to keep quiet about happenings in the country.

It said keeping quiet would only embolden such persons to continue to defile the rights and freedoms of people in this country

“Many were our citizens who erroneously decided to remain quiet because they assumed that we in the NDC were making unnecessary political noises,” the party said.

It said Ghanaians had a right to live in safety and security and go about their lives without fear and intimidation

Call on President

The NDC also called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to perform his duties by protecting and promoting the rights and welfare of Ghanaians.

“We urge the President to sit up and do the work for which he was elected to do. He must do that work with full respect for our rights and welfare,” the NDC added.

Background

Recounting his ordeal, Mr Kudah told the Daily Graphic last Friday that on May 11, he entered the precincts of the Ministry of National Security to take photos of some abandoned cars belonging to the Micro Finance and Small Loan Centre (MASLOC) to help expose the misuse of national resources.

He said just as he was leaving the place after taking the photos, he was confronted by an official who inquired from him about his mission at the place.

After the confrontation, Mr Kudah alleged he was arrested and manhandled by both uniformed policemen and plain-clothes officials of the ministry.

Many groups, including OccupyGhana, the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and Media Foundation for West Africa, have condemned the alleged action by the National Security operatives.

The Ministry of National Security has said it had initiated investigations into the alleged assault of Mr Kudah and Mrs Abu-Baidoo Addo during their arrest and interrogation.

In a statement signed by the Chief Director of the Ministry, Lt Col Ababio Serebour (retd), the ministry said: “It takes with all seriousness the allegations of manhandling of the two journalists during the interrogations.”

“The Ministry of National Security assures the public that appropriate actions shall be taken if the allegations are found to be true,” the statement assured.