Joy News ‘militia’ documentary misleading – Government

The government says a documentary produced by a subsidiary of the Multimedia Group, Joy News which alleged that a militia had been uncovered training and operating at a Security Zone in Accra with permission from the current administration was misleading.

At a press briefing Friday in Accra, the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, said the documentary titled ‘Militia in the heart of the Nation’, carried a number of significant misrepresentations.

He stressed that although the documentary stated emphatically that a militia had been uncovered in its promotion, it only showed young people converging at the Castle, Osu in the belief that jobs will be found for them.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah further urged the producer of the documentary, Manasseh Awuni Azure to avoid such “unprofessional misrepresentations” in the future, given that the narrative in its advertisement did not support the footage aired.

“Firstly, the promotion of the documentary, and the narrative of the documentary stated emphatically that a “militia” (a military force that is raised from the civil population to supplement a regular army in an emergency) has been uncovered training and operating at a “Security Zone”, with the complicity of the current administration, and identified them as belonging to the New Patriotic Party. Surprisingly, the 20-minute documentary does not show any evidence of such a militia or a vigilante group training or operating at a “Security Zone”. Rather, it shows a group of young men and women, dressed up in white shirts and black suits, converging at the Castle, Osu, in the belief that jobs will be found for them,” MR Oppong Nkrumah said.

The documentary – Militia in the heart of the Nation – which aired on Joy News Thursday claimed that a pro-New Patriotic Party (NPP) militia group De Eye Group led by Nana Wireko Addo has been training at the Christianborg Castle, Osu since the party won power in 2017.

It further alleged that the group receives state support and trains at the Castle where its leader (Nana Wireko Addo alias Choman) has an office.

However, the Minister said from JoyNews’ own documentary, it was clear that the company is only involved in helping young people find jobs as stated on its website.

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Source: Graphic.com.gh