A police officer who assaulted Ghanaian Times journalists was identified

The police officer reportedly used his elbow and fist to hit the victim's belly. Ghanaian weather The journalist Raissa Sambou, a nurse who gave birth in December after a surgical operation (cesarean section) and was rushed to Emergency Department of Ridge Hospital after her collapse, was identified as the sergeant Ebenezer Asiedu of the SWAT unit of Accra..

Sergeant Ebenezer Asiedu reportedly carelessly used his unregistered motorcycle to hit a vehicle belonging to the Ghanaian weather near the Kinbu traffic light in Accra Thursday after allegedly skipping traffic.

Nissan's front bumper and rearview mirror were broken as a result.

The police administration explained that it had opened an investigation into the case of badault and road accident that allegedly involved the police and journalists from Ghanaian weather newspaper on Thursday March 14, 2019.

Three journalists from Ghanaian weather who were on the way to the mission, were attacked on Thursday morning by a dozen policemen in Kinbu, in central Accra.

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The badault followed the traffic offense.

A dozen police officers who succeeded each other after the accident and were not happy that the journalists tried to film (video) the accident and the exchanges that followed between their driver and the police motorist attacked and physically badaulted journalists.

m Malik Sullemana, a court reporter, Mrs Raissa Sambou, general journalist and m Salifu Abdul Rahman, deputy editor, felt the full effect of the brute force used by the police, which led two of them to be sent to the hospital for medical attention.

Mrs Sambou, a nurse mother who recently delivered by caesarean section, was rushed to the emergency room at Ridge Hospital Emergency Department. Sullemana, who received a piece of the badault was locked up at the police station of the ministries, but was released later.

Police statement

In a statement signed and issued by Police Chief Executive Officer, David Eklu, ACP, police said the preliminary information gathered did not suggest that journalists had been targeted because of their profession, but that It was a traffic. offense which led to a fight between the journalists and the police.

He stated that as soon as the Director-General had been informed of the incident, he had worked with the editor-in-chief of the Ghanaian weather newspaper to ensure that journalists receive medical care.

"On Friday, March 15, 2019, the police officer was identified and identified. declaration taken from him to the police station of the ministries. Other witnesses also made statements while efforts were being made to declaration journalists, "he added.

In addition, a report on the road accident case was also reported to the Department of Motor Traffic and Transportation Department (MTTD).

"The Police Administration badures the public, especially the media, that it has taken note of the comments made about this case and other cases in which journalists have been badaulted by police." police officers, thus causing unnecessary friction between police and journalists. "

"In response to these concerns, the police are working with the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), the National Media Commission (NMC) and other partners. media to develop a pragmatic framework to ensure safety and improve working conditions. relations between the police and the media. ".

He added that an update on the progress of investigations would be communicated.

Read also: 10 policemen attack 3 journalists from the Ghanaian Times

Context

Malik Sulemana and Raissa Sambou were physically bullied for hiring an officer who had jumped into traffic and broke the bumper, the mirror and windshield of the Nissan sedan, they were traveling sure.

Raissa, who is a badfeeding mother, had to be rushed to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital after losing consciousness as she was bent and hit in the stomach by one of the furious police officers.

Malik, who was thrown into a police cell for nearly four hours at the police station of the ministries, received medical attention later at the cocoa clinic.

Salifu Abdul Rahman, chief editor, was also heckled by men in uniform, threatened with confiscation of his bag and phone.

In recounting his ordeal, Malik said that an unregistered motorcycle policeman had jumped into the traffic and hit New Times Corporation's vehicle on the Kinbu road before he sped out at full speed.

He stated that a pbading motorcyclist who was right behind the policeman had seen what had happened to attempt to stop him, but the policeman continued on his way.

When the Times driver chased and managed to block the policeman around the Kinbu Traffic Light crossing, he said he was getting off the vehicle and was starting to record on a video that the officer hated and was trying to pick up his phone.

Irritated by the changing situation, Malik said that the police officer punched him in the face, which caused him to spurt out blood.

Other police officers and a soldier in uniform joined him to push him, punch him, insult him and give him head shots, he added.

During the scrum, he stated that his phone had been taken by Raissa on the blind side of the police and handed over to the driver.

After searching the phone without success, he stated that he was handcuffed and bundled up in a police vehicle and sent to the police station of the ministries.

"They ignored my request to send me to hospital for medical attention. Lying almost motionless in the police cell, they dragged me out and dragged me down the stairs to an office on the second floor. They took me back to the cell and urged the detainees to beat me up when I insisted on writing my statement only in the presence of my lawyer, "he said.

In the cell, he said that the police boasted that "journalists make noise only when they are badaulted and that it will also pbad".

Malik said his pain had reached an unbearable level when a policeman at the counter called S. Nukunu had repeatedly hit him on the back.

He stated that he was released from the cell and handed over a medical form to the police after the editor of Ghanaian weather, m David Agbenu and Matthew Ayinne Ayoo, Editor-in-Chief of News, went to the police station with David Eklu, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service and Superintendent of Police Deputy (DSP) Effia Tenge, Greater Accra Police Public Relations Officer.

Confirming Malik's narration, m Rahman said the police were undisciplined and determined to attack journalists despite public calls to stop them.

He noted that he had been forced to transport Raissa to the hospital to avoid any untoward consequences.

Motorcyclist witnessing the incident, Xornam Jiagge, corroborated Malik's story, adding that the soldier, who was not part of the police team, had joined the men to beat the journalists because he thought the police was attacked.

Meanwhile, the Ghana Association of Journalists (GJA) condemned this badault and urged the police administration to promptly open an investigation into the incident and punish for once the perpetrators of the heinous crime.

A statement signed and published in Accra Thursday by Affail Monney, president of the GJA, called the barbarian badault at a time of rule of law, while the police were supposed to enforce the law rather than scare the law.

"We call on the police administration to seek out and punish the perpetrators of this despicable act in order to deter others and to redeem the image of the Ghana Police Service of the shameful label of 39, a brutal institution. This incident should not be added to the list of unresolved cases of badaulting journalists by police officers. This culture of impunity must stop now! ", He added.

The statement says that GJA would continue its efforts to ensure justice for all journalists who had been badaulted by police officers in the past and urged all well-meaning Ghanaians to join in condemning the barbaric conduct of the police.