Radio Tongu director arrested for promoting separatists agenda

Mr Bestway Zottor, the Director of Radio Tongu in the Volta Region, was on Wednesday arrested for his alleged role in promoting the agenda of the Homeland Study Group Foundation, a secessionist group in the Region.

Radio Tongu is a community radio station based at Sogakope in the South Tongu District of the Volta Region.

Mr Zottor was arrested in his home in a joint security operation of personnel from the Bureau of National Investigations, the Military and the Police.

His arrest came few days after Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, the Volta Region Minister, issued a warning to media houses in the Region, with particular mention of Radio Tongu, to desist from championing separatists activities or risk being held answerable to offences of secessionists.

Campaigners of the so-called Western Togolanders with 85-year old Kormi Kudzordzi, known as Papavi Hogbedetor, the leader, on Saturday, November 16, 2019, claimed they had declared Volta Region an independent Western Togoland state, after which some members were picked by the police.

The Ghana News Agency (GNA) was told the decision to arrest Mr Zottor was taken after a District Security Council (DISEC) meeting.

The meeting was called to consider contents of radio programme recordings available on social media, said to have been made by Mr Zottor on Monday, January 13, which allegedly bordered on security matters and sought to incite the public to engage in violent acts.

Mr Prince Dogbatse, the Public Relations Officer of Volta Region Police Command, said Mr Zottor was in custody at the Command assisting in investigations.