Journalists' Arrest: It's Restoring 'Sanity' On The Airwaves - Akomea Backs Police

Chief Executive Officer of the State Transport Corportation (STC), Nana Akomea has backed the Police arrests of journalists and persons who make seditious or libelous comments.

On Thursday, February 10, 2022, a journalist named Kwabena Bobie Ansah, host of ''The Citizen Show'' on Accra FM, was arrested by persons purported to be National Security operatives for accusing the First and Second Ladies of stealing some government lands.

He also posted on social media saying ''this current judicial system is corrupt and made up of crooks and criminals, led by a corrupt Chief Justice who's struggling to purge himself from a $5 thievery allegations. Facts are sacred''.

Bobie Ansah was arrested after refusing to honor Police invites for interrogation into his allegations, a Police statement said.

He is being held on a charge of offensive conduct.

Also Onua TV’s Morning Show host, Blessed Godsbrain Smart, popularly called ''Captain Smart'', was detained by National Security Operatives after he had been granted bail by the court following his arrest over extortion.

He was detained along with another staff, Eric Dadzie Copperfield, also called DJ GH Boy who is also facing charges of abetment to extort.

Furthermore, the leader of the pressure group #FixTheCountry, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, who recently led a protest against President Nana Akufo-Addo's government was on Friday arrested after making comments on social media about plotting a coup.

"If this E-Levy passes... I will do the coup myself. Useless Army!", he said in a series of posts on Facebook.

Following his post, a Police report read; "The post contained a clear statement of intent with a possible will to execute a coup in his declaration of intent to subvert the constitution of the Republic of Ghana.''

Mr. Barker-Vormawor is charged with treason felony.

Reacting to the issue during a panel discussion programme on Peace FM's ''Kokrokoo'', Nana Akomea noted that the arrests are a measure to sanitize the airwaves.

He supported the action by the security agencies saying ''I find it to be restoring sanity. We have free speech as we all know. We have media freedom but we also have laws. So, the fact that we have free speech doesn't mean I can say anything against my brother Kwesi Pratt and claim it's free speech. If I say something against Kwesi Pratt and it sullies his integrity while I have no evidence, I can't say it's free speech. If we do that, the whole society will collapse''.

To him, a lot of people have made similar statements and have been ignored for far too long, hence, it's about time the laws were exercised.

''Most times, we ignore but should we continue to ignore it, it will become worse'', he stressed.