The Director of Communications of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah, has said that the party is ready to assist the Police in investigating the 16 persons who were arrested for allegedly attacking United Television (UTV).
Mr Ahiagbah said on the Ghana Tonight show on TV3 on Monday, October 9 that the Police were yet to reach out to the NPP for support.
“Anytime they need anything, we will be ready to supply them if we have. They have not reached out to us yet, we are waiting to hear from them,” he said.
He further revealed that the arrested persons have been granted bail pending investigations.
“They are now on bail pending any investigation,” Ahiagbah said.
Regarding the number of people arrested so far, the General Secretary of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Kofi Yeboah, indicated that the suspects were more than sixteen.
He has therefore asked the police to arrest the others as well.
Speaking on the Big Issue on TV3 on Monday, October 9, Mr Yeboah who is also a lecturer at Wisconsin University said “There are more than 16 people who invaded the premises of UTV and we understand that the Police have arrested 16. So we are calling on the police to do well to arrest the others involved.
“We make reference to Dagbon FM case in which the Police were very rapid in their arrest and prosecution of the offenders so we have a lot of hope and confidence in the Police that this time round too they will do a good job.”
Following a complaint from the Despite Media Group and Ministry of Information that certain people had invaded the studios of UTV, the Police said they proceeded to the scene and arrested sixteen persons.
The incident occurred during the broadcast of the station’s United Showbiz programme on Saturday, October 7. The show was disrupted immediately after it started around 9PM.
The arrested persons were captured in a video indicating they had gone for one of the panelists Kwame Asare Obeng (A-Plus).
The National Media Commission (NMC) expressed concern over the attack and assured that it was working with the Police to address the situation.
A statement dated October 8, 2023 and signed by the Executive Secretary, Mr George Sarpong said, “The Commission is concerned about the increasing use of violence as the preferred method for addressing grievances against the media and journalists. Perpetrators of such crimes must realise that violence does not produce better journalism.”
The NMC pointed out that, “the Constitution provides anyone who feels aggrieved by the work of the media the opportunity to seek redress through the complaint settlement mechanism of the National Media Commission.
“As we approach the electioneering process for Ghana 2024, it is important for political actors and all Ghanaians to learn that the Ghana we envisage would not be built on the path of violent attacks on journalists.”
“The Commission assured that in the next couple of weeks, it will be rolling out a comprehensive programme to reactivate the Coordinated Mechanism for the Safety of Journalists to ensure the media continue to operate without fear.”
“In the meantime, we assure the public of our cooperation with the Ghana Police Service to get to the bottom of this matter,” the NMC assured.