…Of threats and the Police Administration

TODAY reported extensively on threats issued to the editorial heads of the paper last week. And since threat is considered a first degree felony in our statute books, the paper lodged a formal complaint with the Police.

Our first point of call was the Tesano Police Station since by the positioning of our offices-Avenor, we fall within the jurisdiction of the Tesano Police. Obviously overwhelmed by the magnitude of the paper’s complaint, the matter was referred to the headquarters of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service.

We had stated in no unequivocal terms that the man behind the threat- and indeed given the name of the assailant, as an operative of the National Security apparatus.

Officers of the CID headquarters took every detail of our complaint and assured us that the suspect would be communicated to on the need to appear before a panel at the CID headquarters for interrogation. The impression the paper got was that the matter would be dealt with by close of last Friday, August 21^st, 2008.

At the time of the editorial, yesterday August 25, 2009 nothing had been heard from the CID. Checks made by the paper however indicate that officers at the CID headquarters are finding it extremely difficult inviting the suspect because of his status as a National Security operative.

The inaction of the CID to act on the issue clearly underscores the fact that we now live in a country where some individuals are above the law. It is a kind of Animal Farm situation where some citizens are more equal than others.

The situation we find ourselves gives an inkling why the said Security operative could boast that just as he did to Mrs. Gina Blay of Daily Guide, he would do same to us without facing the sanctions in any form. After all as he indicated in one of his threatening text message to us, he was aware that no one from the Security apparatus could muster the requisite muscle to deal with him.

So what is the fate of Journalists like us, we ask?

The country is surely getting into the abyss of culture of silence, intolerance and impudence where operatives of the Security agency just like it happened during the first administration of the NDC, smeared faeces at the premises of newspapers and still get the thumps-up from officialdom for that inhuman act.

It is unfortunate that the current political scene is reminiscent of the era where top security operatives could encourage and endorse the culture of assassination while the sitting President at the time nodded in approval.

Unfortunately it was during the first administration of the NDC that Journalists were subjected to all kinds of physical abuses and psychological trauma. Is it just a coincidence that under another NDC administration, Journalists are being subjected to another bouts of threats?

It clearly underscores the fact that the NDC has not changed in character and deeds and remains the same robust and rugged entity that will do everything possible to cow dissenting views. But we wish to assure such faceless operatives that we are ready for their sheer bravado.