Nana Wereko Addo aka Choman and Mannaseh Azure Awuni
The management of Multimedia Group, operators of Joy Fm, Joy News and other media outlets, as well as its reporter, Mannaseh Azure, have been slapped with a GH¢10 million lawsuit following the broadcast of a documentary on the training of a supposed ‘militia’ at the Osu Castle.
The documentary, which was aired on Joy News and other affiliates of Multimedia alleged that De-Eye Group is affiliated to the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.
It claimed the De-Eye Group was training vigilantes at the Osu Castle, former seat of government in Accra.
Both the De-Eye and government have denied the allegations on the training of vigilantes, insisting that it’s a recruitment agency.
Mannaseh Azure’s documentary fueled talks about the dangers vigilantism pose to the security of the nation.
The President recently proposed a bipartisan dialogue to stem vigilantism in the country.
Suit
Incensed by the militia tag, De-Eye Group has initiated a legal action against Multimedia Group and Mannaseh Azure.
In a suit filed at an Accra High Court and sighted by DAILY GUIDE, the company is seeking a declaration that Multimedia’s publication that it is operating a militia affiliated to the NPP in the heart of the nation is defamatory and slanderous.
The De-Eye Group is seeking an order directed at the defendants and agents from continuing to air the said ‘defamatory’ documentary.
It is also seeking an order directed at the defendants to retract the documentary and render an unqualified apology in the same prominence given to the documentary.
Again, the plaintiff is seeking general damages and compensatory damages of GH¢10 million against the defendants for loss of reputation.
The Minister of State at the Presidency in-charge of National Security, Bryan Acheampong, revealed that the De-Eye Group poses no threat to nation’s security.
Following the airing of the documentary on Thursday, March 7, 2019, a section of Ghanaians, including security analysts, indicated that Ghana faces an existential threat.
But Mr. Acheampong, in a Facebook post, explained that “we did all the works and assured ourselves that De Eye Group was not a vigilante group (truest form and interpretation), militia or criminal organization.”
It said, “Indeed we are privy to every facet of their operations which primarily involves: soliciting young unemployed persons; writing to companies and agencies for job openings; seeking to place their young unemployed clients into employment opportunities; charging them a fee for their services.
The Ghana Museums and Monuments Board has also stated categorically that Osu Christiansborg Castle is a museum and not a security installation as Joy News wants Ghanaians to believe.
By Gibril Abdul Razak