{"id":597616,"date":"2019-03-09T08:31:58","date_gmt":"2019-03-09T08:31:58","guid":{"rendered":"

Manasseh Azure Awuni's latest undercover investigation reveals how a militia group aligned to the government is being trained at a former seat of government. <\/p>

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The Minority in Ghana\u2019s Parliament has cautioned government against \u201cintolerance and vicious attacks\u201d on Joy News\u2019 investigative journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The call which was made at a press conference addressed by\u00a0Deputy Minority Leader,\u00a0James Klutse Avedzi, \u00a0follows Awuni\u2019s latest investigative piece,<\/span> \u201cThe Militia in the Heart of the Nation,\u201d which they\u00a0<\/span><\/span>labeled as\u00a0 \u201cworld-class courageous and impressive undercover reportage\u201d which \u201cdeserve high praise.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Among other things, the NDC parliamentarians said, \u201cWe condemn this negative culture which Anas Aremeyaw Anas has been subjected to in recent days and caution that Manasseh Azure Awuni should not be made to suffer the same.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The statement issued Friday added; \u201cThe Minority decries the creeping culture of intolerance and vicious attacks perpetrated by officials and agents of the government on innocent journalists whose only crime is that they are pursuing their profession without fear or favour.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Since the premiering of Awuni\u2019s work on Thursday, Government has condemned it describing same as \u201cconjecture, malice, mischief, sensationalism and unvalidated suspicions\u201d which contains \u201csignificant misrepresentations and misleading impressions.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This was also contained in a four-page statement signed by Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Government\u2019s reaction to the\u00a0Joy News documentary which revealed how a pro-New Patriotic Party militia group <\/b>is being trained at the Osu Castle came on Friday.\u00a0The undercover work disclosed how a former bodyguard of the president led the training of the militia group, De-Eye, on the grounds of public property.<\/p>\n

Operating for the past two years, Manasseh found that the group had already provided security for a number of government functions of which the president had\u00a0taken part in.<\/p>\n

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A leader of the group, Nana Wireko Addo in the undercover work, after one of such functions, conveyed President Akufo-Addo\u2019s warm impressions of\u00a0the group when they provided security for an event at the International Conference Centre in 2018.<\/p>\n

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Members of the group, dressed in black suits with white shirts during one of their meetings\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

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The documentary has come as a shock to the nation, especially at a time when President Akufo-Addo has himself tasked the two leading political parties \u2013 NPP and NDC \u2013 to meet and find a solution to the party militia menace in the country.<\/p>\n

Aside from calling for protection for Awuni, the Minority in Parliament are also calling for the immediate resignation of the President saying he has \u201clost all moral right\u201d to occupy the highest office of the land.<\/b><\/p>\n

But the government has rejected that also.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Kojo Oppong Nkrumah<\/b><\/p>\n

Mr Oppong Nkrumah, who is also MP for Ofoase-Ayirebi denied among other things that the young men and women who converge\u00a0at the Castle thrice a week – Monday, Wednesday and Friday \u2013 are\u00a0a militia group under training.<\/b><\/p>\n

He added that describing the Castle as a security zone as was done by Manasseh in his documentary, is upsetting.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe narrative in Manasseh\u2019s promotion, in particular, that connotes the Castle, Osu, as a \u201cSecurity Zone\u201d, which is being used to train militia and vigilantes, is most worrying,\u201d the Minister said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndeed, if this group was still operating from the Castle, wouldn\u2019t the Commission of Inquiry currently looking into the events at the Ayawaso West Wuogon election have noticed them by now,\u201d he queried.<\/p>\n

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