Oppong-Nkrumah condemns assault on Dagbon FM journalist by NDC thugs

The Ministry of Information, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, has noted "with concern", reports of an assault on a journalist at Dagbon FM, in Tamale, by thugs of the main opposition National Democratic Congress.

The ministry, in a statement, said it "condemns the act and urges the Ghana Police Service and relevant agencies to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators".

"Attacks on journalists should not be countenanced", the ministry insisted.

It said: "Severe and speedy response from law enforcement agencies is necessary to prevent copy-cat acts and maintain Ghana’s status in upholding press freedom".

Meanwhile, the Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, "in a telephone conversation with the journalist, has offered the support of the ministry if he will require any".

Mr Iddrisu Hardi Pagazaa, a former deputy northern regional communications officer of the NDC and one other person, have been reported to the police for storming the studios of Dagbon FM in the Northern Region on Wednesday, 3 May 2023, which coincidentally was World Press Freedom Day, to attack and assault Abubakar Sadiq Gariba, the host of an evening political talk show on Dagbon102.5 FM in the Northern Region, which belongs to the Class Media Group.

The live on-air attack happened between 8:30 pm and 9 pm.

Narrating what happened to Korku Lumor on Class91.3FM’s morning show on Thursday, 4 May 2023, Sadiq Gariba said the attack on him followed his earlier condemnation, on his show, of the exploitation of the Abudu-Andani chieftaincy crisis in Dagbon by some politicians including his attacker.

He said his assailant, who is alleged to be a member of Sagnarigu MP A.B.A. Fuseini’s campaign team, had earlier said on another radio station that “I should be the last person to advise him on communication because my communication can be compared to that of his daughter”.

“So, when I got to my show, I played the tape and said: ‘OK, whether my communication can be compared to that of the daughter or not, I will not discuss the substance of this issue because this guy, before making that statement about me, said something that I found to be false and anybody who is not credible is not worth being discussed on my show and, so, I will not discuss this tape on my show’, then I just switched to my topic of the day”, he told Lumor.

The radio host said: “Immediately he [Pagazar] walked into the studio, he came straight to me to attack; he didn’t ask of anything, he came straight to me to attack. He came and held my shirt, and squeezed it to my neck and the other colleague he came in with also held my shirt on the other side and they both squeezed it and pushed me to the wall and that colleague said if I should open my mouth, he will knock me and went ahead to tell me that if I don’t stop mentioning Hardi Pagazaa on your, he’ll kill me”.

Asked if he knew the gentleman who threatened to kill him, Saddique Gariba said: “I don’t know the gentleman’s name”.

A.B.A Fuseini disowns assailant

When called to speak to the issue on the Class Morning Show, Mr A.B.A. Fuseini said he only knows the assailant as “a member of the NDC”, and described as “absolutely trash”, any reported association with him in any way whatsoever.

“He’s not even on my campaign team let alone being my campaign manager”, Mr Fuseini denied, adding: “He has nothing to do with my campaign. He doesn’t hold any position in my campaign”.

He empathised with the victim and condemned the attack.

“Let me first and foremost express regret at anybody who harasses a journalist. I’ve been a journalist for over three decades and I am the first to uphold the inalienable rights and freedoms of journalists to work in an environment that is conducive to the carrying out of their professional duties”, he sympathised, noting: “So, I will be the last person to even think remotely about anything that will impede the work of journalists”.

“So, if any such incident happened to anybody, that person has my unqualified sympathies and support and I want to make it unequivocally clear that I condemn in no uncertain terms, any attempt by anybody to impede the work of journalists let alone harass or intimidate journalists”.

The lawmaker suspects the links being drawn between him and the alleged assailant are a product of his detractors.

“The issue that is being raised and associating it with me is just some propaganda that some people are trying to claw back something because they are losing the contest in the constituency because there is no such association”, he said.

Mr Fuseini insisted the assailant “doesn’t occupy any position, he’s not a member of my campaign team and he doesn’t occupy any position in my campaign, so, you can talk about the gentleman and his conduct but not in his association with me A.B.A Fuseini, never”.