No justification to attack radio station – Info Ministry calls for punishment of thugs

The Ministry of Information has condemned the attack on Radio Ada by some unknown thugs on Thursday.

It has therefore called on the District Police Command to arrest and ensure punishment for the perpetrators of the crime.

In a press release issued on Saturday, the ministry said the action by the thugs was unnecessary and without justification.

“There is no justification for a group of people to physically attack a radio station and its staff for comments made on air. If a party is aggrieved at media comments, there are legitimate and legal avenues for seeking redress,” the ministry said.

It described as “totally unacceptable” the attack on the media house and reiterated the need for the perpetrators to be identified and made to face the law.

“Attacks of this nature are, however, totally unacceptable and the perpetrators must be identified and action taken in accordance with the law.”

Meanwhile, the sector minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has called and spoken to the management and staff of Radio Ada and asked the National Media Commission to take action on the issue.

Some unknown hoodlums violently attacked the premises of Radio Ada, a community radio station at Ada in the Greater Accra Region, last Thursday around 11:30 am.

The weapon-wielding thugs, numbering about 10, ransacked some of the station’s offices and beat up two of its staff members over the content of one of the station’s flagship programs.

They first manhandled some staff members of the station, who had refused to disclose the whereabouts of some senior management members the thugs had asked about.

Later, they stormed one of the station’s studios and assaulted the presenter, and vandalized some equipment in there.

Julius Odoi, In-charge of Programmes and External Communications at Radio Ada, told Citi News: “When the presenter in the studio realized that the thugs were coming in, he shut the door, but the thugs forced and broke into it. So he asked them why they had entered the studio, and they started slapping him. They also removed the monitor and the other equipment in the studio and damaged them.”

Source: CNR