IPC condemns the killing of Ghanaian Investigative Journalist

IPC condemns the killing of Ghanaian Investigative Journalist

The International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos-Nigeria, condemns in very strong terms the brutal killing of Ghanaian undercover Journalist – Ahmed Husein.

According to media reports, Husein was shot by gunmen on a motorbike on Wednesday night while in his car driving home.

He was reportedly shot three times, twice in the chest and another in the neck.

Prior to his death, Husein had previously made a complaint to police after a Ghanaian lawmaker, Kennedy Agyapong, showed his photograph on a private television channel. He promised payment for supporters who took retribution against Husein.

However, there were no measures to protect him.

IPC is aware that the Ghanaian Police is currently at work gathering information on the case, according to a statement from the director of the criminal investigations department, Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Dankwa.

However, IPC calls on the government and authorities of Ghana to make concerted efforts to ensure the arrest of the perpetrators and seek justice for the crime committed.

On average, every five days a journalist is killed across the world for bringing information to the public, therefore freedom of expression and safety of journalists as well as ending impunity for crimes committed against them are of vital importance to ensure the rule of law and human rights more broadly.

IPC appeals to the security agents to fulfill their role in protecting and ensuring an environment conducive to freedom of expression, access to information and other fundamental freedoms. This means protecting journalists against attacks by those who seek to prevent them from informing the public on corruption and other abuses of power.

SGD
Lanre Arogundade
Director, IPC
[email protected]
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CWPPF Condemns Killing
The Coalition for Whistleblowers Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF) condemns in the most strenuous terms the death of Ghanaian journalist, Ahmed Husseini-Suale and calls on the Ghanaian Government to investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Mr Hussein-Suale before his demise was a member of the investigative journalism team working with Tiger Eye in Ghana. He was said to be on his way home when gunmen on a motorbike opened fire on his vehicle in Madina area of Accra, shooting him twice in the chest and once in the head.

The Coalition calls out his death as another attempt to incapacitate the press from performing the constitutionally guaranteed function and calls on the Ghanaian government to investigate this injustice and try the culprits to the full extent of the law- as chapter 12 of the Ghana constitution guarantees media pluralism and independence.

Mr Anas Aremeyaw Anas and his team which included the late Mr Husseini-Suale have taken on the Ghanaian government and exposed corruption in different sectors of the economy including the 2015 investigation that exposed several judges as taking bribes and forced many of them to resign.

The death of Mr. Husseini-Suale is the culmination of months of violent threats to members of staff of Tiger Eye, whose management had asked the world to prevail on Ghanaian authorities to guarantee their safety and allow them carry out their constitutionally guaranteed functions.

The death of the Tiger Eye investigative journalist is the first death in the line of duty in recent times in Africa and is an alarming escalation of the over 300 reported cases of attacks and harassment of journalists in 2018-2019 as recorded by the Press Attack Tracker, CWPPF labels these attacks a major threat to democracy, freedom of the press and individual liberties of journalists and other media professionals worldwide.

SIGNED
Coalition for Whistleblowers Protection and Press Freedom.
Paradigm Initiative
African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL)
International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR)
Media Rights Agenda (MRA)
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP)
Premium Times
Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ)
Order Paper NG
International Press Centre (IPC)
Daily Trust Newspaper
Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CSNAC)
The Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation
Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ)
Civic Media Lab
Sahara Reporters
Premium Times Center for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ)

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Stephanie O. Adams
Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ).