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Relatives of Alhaji Dawood, Sadala
Nuhu and Akua Amponsah, who allegedly aided Ruby Adu- Gyamfi to smuggle
cocaine to the UK, last Friday threatened to kill journalists who dared
to take photographs of them at the Circuit Court, Cocoa Affairs, Accra.
It would appear that the fierce looking machomen had been specifically
bused
to the premises of the court to deal mercilessly with media personnel
for their coverage of the proceedings of the Ruby cocaine saga.
They
had threatened to enter the courtroom in a bid to continue with the
mission of covering the faces of the suspects so their images could not
be captured by the lenses of the cameras.
Law enforcement officers stopped them from making good their bid anyway, but not from issuing real threats to the media.
A
DAILY GUIDE photographer Emmanuel Kubi was specifically threatened by a
man who constantly hit his own head against a wall as though he was
possessed.
He said “I will kill you if you dare take the picture of my sister.”
That
was not all Emmanuel Kubi countenanced at the hands of the machomen and
relatives of the suspects, as another man pointed the sharp end of his
car’s ignition key menacingly at him, saying “I will chuck your face.”
When he could not bear the threat any longer, he turned to a policeman
for intervention who called the two men and cautioned them. The caution
appeared to have rather stoked the fire, as they increased the tempo of
threats with mock charges.
Earlier, one of them who allegedly assaulted a Times reporter last week was arrested within the premises.
He
resisted arrest and had the cop threaten to use force to get him to
come along to the Police Station whereupon he calmed down but not before
calling someone and whispering something to him. Four lawyers
accompanied him to the Police Station.
Emmanuel Kubi’s
spectacular picture of the two female suspects which appeared on the
front page of the paper last week seems to have especially unsettled the
family members.
One of them warned “today you dare not take my sister’s picture.”
A relative of the suspects had in his possession a copy of the unsettling Daily Guide perhaps to make a point.
It
was a tough day for the media as the concerted efforts of the relatives
of the suspects, coupled with the inaction of law enforcement officers,
denied them the opportunity to take fresh shots.
Media persons
have often come under attack from relatives of crime suspects, sometimes
physically as it happened to the Times reporter last week.
Two
years ago, a Prisons Warder assaulted Emmanuel Kubi and the case was
reported to the Ministries Police Station but nothing has come out of
the case, anomaly which could have emboldened others to follow suit.
Emmanuel
Kubi said during the proceedings of the late Ibrahim Sima he was
assaulted, adding that his Nikon Camera was damaged by a relative of the
then suspect in a bid to prevent him from taking a shot of him |
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| Source: Daily Guide |
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