The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, has alleged complicity of the National Security Minister, Albert Kan Dapaah, in the arrest and purported torture of two ModernGhana journalists and is calling for his head.
National Security operatives last Thursday stormed the East Legon office of the online news outlet, ModernGhana, arrested two journalists, seized their equipment and took them out of access of their family, friends and superiors.
After their release, one of the journalists, Emmanuel Ajafor Abugri, disclosed that at the time of their arrest, he and his colleague were bundled into a waiting vehicle, blindfolded and taken to an unknown location where he was later tortured.
But the National Security Council has denied those claims.
It indicated in a statement that a medical examination has been ordered to prove the authenticity or otherwise of the claim while the two have been arraigned in court.
Speaking on TV3’s New Day, Sammy Gyamfi said the NDC received the news of the arrest of the journalists with “utter disgust and outrage” at a time the details were still sketchy.
According to him, he was scandalized having heard the details of the arrest and the alleged torture and wants a full-scale investigation into the whole National Security operation.
He said medical examination as ordered by the National Security is not enough.
Mr. Gyamfi said while at it, the sector minister, who is purported to be at the center of the issues, must hang his boots or at least step aside until investigations are done.
“Kan Dapaah must resign or be suspended until investigations are conducted,” he demanded.
‘Massive protests’
He insisted that the issue is an affront on media freedom and must be dealt with with all the seriousness it deserves, noting that it will take a massive protest from Ghanaians to resist such abuses.
The NDC communicator catalogued instances of abuses ranging from the murder of investigative journalist Ahmed Suale, threats on Manasseh Azure Awuni, the raid of Edward Adeti’s residence and recent raid of ModernGhana, as indicators of a “suppressive government”.
But a Deputy Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Nyamah, said there is no need for the politicization of the issue, noting there were attacks on journalists during the erstwhile John Mahama administration.
The debate led to heated exchanges between the two, forcing host Bright Nana Amfoh to end it.
Source: 3news.com|Ghana