Heavily Armed Police Raid CITI FM To Arrest Journalist At Gunpoint —As Akufo Addo’s Despotic Regime Tactics Intensifies

The dictatorial tactics unleashed on the Ghanaian media by the Akufo Addo administration are continuing unabated as a group of heavily armed police officers today raided Accra-based CITI FM to arrest a journalist.

Whatsup News is reliably informed that a team of about seven heavily armed police stormed the offices of CITI FM, to arrest one Zoe Abu-Baidoo, a broadcast journalist with Citi FM and Citi TV because she had received video clips from her colleague Caleb Kudah reporting from the field.

Mr. Kudah, is being accused of filming the car park of the Ministry of National Security, a supposed restricted security zone on Tuesday, and had sent the videos to Zoe via WhatsApp shortly before he [Calen Kodua] was arrested and bundled away by National Security agents.

According to reports, unfortunately for Ms. Abu-Baido, the thuggish team of police officers who had stormed CITI FM Rambo-styled had met her at the car part and they had quickly proceeded to assault her, but she dangerously slipped away and took to her heels.

A terrified and bruised Zoe Abu-Baidoo reportedly dashed into the offices of CITI FM and ducked under the desk of her superior.

Whatsup News gathered that when the reason for Zoe’s frantic race for her dear life became apparent to her colleagues, it sent shock waves through the entire newsroom of CITI FM as journalists and other staff bolted in all directions to avoid the onslaught of the heavily armed security officers.

According to a report by CITI FM, eventually, Zoe was pulled out of her hiding and together they were marched to the National Security Ministry for interrogations.

 “Caleb Kudah who had visited someone at the National Security was arrested after filming at the premises of the Ministry. After he was arrested, the operatives claimed that he had sent whatever he had filmed to another colleague, Zoe Abu-Baidoo,” narrated Citi News’ Security Correspondent, Anass Seidu.

The latest invasion of CITI FM adds to the tally of media organisations and journalists that the Akufo Addo administration acting through the security agencies had targeted in the past four years.

The government’s image as an upholder of press freedom has been dented internationally by the targeting of journalists and people with dissenting voices. 

In an extreme case, a journalist, Ahmed Hussein Suale, an undercover investigative journalist who was investigating a serious case of corruption at the Jubilee House was assassinated in cold blood close to his house, after the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong had placed a bounty on his head.

Other journalists such as David Tamakloe, the Editor-in-Chief of Whatsup News have also been arrested at gunpoint twice within six months for reporting on issues of injustice and corruption.

Others, including Manasseh Awuni Azuri, etc have had to escape into exile or gone into hiding for the explosive revelations they made about the government.

The situation in the country last week forced the hitherto private Dr. Sam Jonah to issue an explosive statement where he warned that the country has degenerated into the days of despotic leadership and the “Culture of Silence”.