Yaw Buaben Asamoa, director of communications of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has advised the media to be circumspect in their reportage on the seeming state of insecurity in the country.
Two bullion vans have been attacked within a week by armed men in Accra and Central regions leaving a police officer and a trader dead.
The police service has also alerted its command in the Upper East Region following intelligence that some bandits from Burkina Faso are planning to attack some communities in the Northern Region.
Speaking on Asaase Radio’s news and current affairs show The Forum on Saturday, Asamoa said such discussions can put the security of the nation in danger.
“I am saying that one should be circumspect and that means the media, those who specialise in defence reporting should also have closer access, background briefing with national security, it’s the same with civil society groups,” he said.
Asamoa added: “Perhaps using a bullion van that has been attacked may be off but I am saying that generally it may be difficult for us as a nation in our collective interest to secure us by exposing us beyond a certain point using our freedom.”
He has therefore called for a broader consultation among stakeholders to help in managing information in ways that will not expose the nation in terms of security.
“If you get that closeness, you will find out that the reality of the information will filter out in ways that will alert the population better, put us on our guard than merely washing linen out there in order to find safety. We can’t find safety by washing linen out there.”
We’ll arrest you
Meanwhile, the police have served notice to the people who attacked a bullion van on Monday 14 June in James Town, in the capital, Accra, that they will be arrested.
Speaking at the passing-out ceremony for 320 recruits into the Ghana Police Service in Kumasi, Commissioner of Police (COP) Nathan Kofi Boakye, the director general of legal and prosecution for the Service, said the robbers can run but they cannot hide for ever.
“At this point, I must emphasise the fact that the Ghana Police Service is able and capable and has the ability to arrest these criminals,” COP Boakye said.
Non-negotiable
“I’m at this point, on behalf of the Inspector General of Police and the police administration, assuring everybody and the entire nation that these criminals, especially those who committed [this] week’s crime, and all others who have committed other crimes in recent times, are going to be arrested soon, and I mean soon.
“Their arrest is non-negotiable to the service. They can run and run, but we will get them. It is incumbent on all of us, including you – the new recruits – to help us achieve this objective, starting from now … you have a duty of arresting these criminals who killed one of us. This is non-negotiable and we cannot compromise on the need to arrest these criminals,” he said.
Fred Dzakpata
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