Gov't Promised To Deal With Police Attack on Ghanaian Times Journalists

“It is condemnable. I spoke to the editor of the Ghanaian Times within hours of picking information about the incident and we have asked then to formally write to us so that we quickly engage with the Interior Minister,” the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has said.

He noted that the Ministry will then engage with the police service to quicken their investigations and “find the particular officers responsible and ensure that the necessary disciplinary actions are taken.”

“The level of force that police officers are allowed to use is always expected to be reasonable and on probable cause grounds so it is important to have this matter very quickly investigated and the necessary disciplinary sanctions brought to bear,” the Minister added.

The National Media Commission (NMC) has already demanded immediate action from the Police Administration against the officers who assaulted the journalists.

A statement and signed by Chairman of the NMC, Yaw Boadu-Ayisboafoh, also called on the Police Administration to arrest the perpetrators without waiting for the victims to identify the officers involved in the act.

Sullemana’s bloodshot eyes

The Police Administration says it has instituted an investigation into a reported case of assault and motor traffic accident involving a police officer and some journalists from Ghanaian Times.

A statement issued in Accra and signed by Assistant Commissioner of Police David Eklu, the Director General of Public Affairs, said preliminary information gathered does not suggest the journalists were targeted because of their profession but it was a traffic offence which resulted in a scuffle between the journalists and the police officers.

In a related development, the Information Minister has also condemned the recent attack on a police officer by a driver and his mate. He said it is wrong for anyone to attack a police officer.

---Myjoyonline