Citi FM raid: We’re ready to help Citi FM to sue over assault

The Media Foundation for West Africa, MFWA, has said it is ready to support Citi FM/Citi TV to take legal action against National Security operatives who assaulted its Broadcast Journalist, Mr. Caleb Kudah.

The Foundation's Executive Secretary, Mr. Sulemana Braimah, said this when he spoke on Citi FM/Citi TV‘s weekend current affairs programme, The Big Issue on Saturday, May 15, 2021.

Mr. Braimah therefore charged the National Media Commission (NMC) to assert itself and ensure that the right i thing is done on the matter.

The Foundation said it is prepared to do everything to ensure that the brutalisation of journalists becomes a thing of the past.

“I am happy that yesterday [Friday, May 14, 2021], when the Information Minister visited Citi FM, he made a point that this must be a test case because not too long ago there was this launch of the National Coordinated Mechanism on Safety of Journalists, and a facility was dedicated for the journalists to report to, and we look forward to the National Media Commission really asserting themselves on this matter because if it is National Security investigating National Security, nothing will happen.”

“So we look forward to the National Media Commission doing their work, otherwise as Media Foundation, we are very much open, and we are solidly prepared that if Citi FM would want any support to have a legal action taken on this particular matter, it is something that we are prepared to support Citi FM to do so.”

This comes after the Broadcast Journalist, Caleb Kudah, was arrested on Tuesday, May 11, 2021, by some National Security operatives for filming abandoned vehicles procured by MASLOC that had been parked at the Ministry for several years now.

A team of heavily-armed SWAT police officers subsequently were dispatched to arrest Citi News' Zoe Abu-Baidoo Addo at the premises of Citi FM/Citi TV.

This is because Caleb had forwarded some of the footage he captured to Zoe via WhatsApp.

Caleb Kudah in an interview with Bernard Avle on The Point Of View on Citi TV indicated that he was slapped several times by the security officers.

The Ministry of National Security on Thursday said it has begun investigations into the issue.