The Multimedia Group has strongly condemned a violent attack on four of its team members by armed men at Asumenya, near Manso Nkran in the Ashanti Region.
The assault occurred on Sunday, October 20, 2024, while the team was covering the resurgence of illegal mining activities popularly known as galamsey in the newly restored Asumenya Forest Reserve and the pollution of streams feeding into the Ankobra River.
According to the statement issued by the Multimedia Group, more than 10 heavily armed men wielding pump-action guns ambushed the crew during their assignment.
The attackers abducted the journalists to a remote location, subjected them to physical abuse, and later abandoned them at the scene.
During the attack, several items were confiscated, including a tablet computer, drone batteries, and removable storage devices (SD cards) that contained footage and data collected during the operation.
The assailants deleted all the evidence captured by the team before leaving.
The Multimedia Group has reported the incident to the police and expressed its appreciation for the swift response from the Inspector General of Police (IGP) in initiating efforts to apprehend the attackers.
The media conglomerate has called on the Ghana Police Service to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice and held accountable to the full extent of the law.
“We unequivocally denounce this attack on our journalist and three other team members and call on the Ghana Police to ensure swift justice,” parts of the statement read.
It continued: “No Ghanaian should ever be subjected to such brutality for simply performing their duty, especially when addressing critical issues like the ecologically-devastating galamsey operations.”
The Multimedia Group emphasised the essential role that journalism plays in shedding light on societal issues, calling for greater protection for journalists and media practitioners across the country.
“As the Fourth Estate of the realm, journalism plays a vital role in bringing attention to critical issues that affect our society. We, therefore, call for greater protection of journalists and media practitioners across the country.”
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