The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has formally petitioned the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), calling for urgent intervention to protect journalists reporting on the protracted Bawku conflict in the Upper East Region.
At a press conference held in Accra on Tuesday, GJA President, Albert Dwumfour, expressed deep concern over what he described as persistent and escalating attacks on journalists covering the conflict. According to him, media practitioners in the region are increasingly facing threats to their lives, both online and offline, as a direct result of their professional reportage.
Mr. Dwumfour revealed that several journalists have been targeted by criminal elements who have sought to intimidate and silence them through harassment, threats, and coordinated attacks. He cited a recent case involving the Upper East Regional Chairman of the GJA, Albert Sore, whose life was allegedly threatened after a professional journalistic engagement was “maliciously distorted and weaponised by faceless and pseudonymous actors.”
“These distortions were deliberately used to incite hostility and issue explicit death threats against him and other journalists,” the GJA President stated.
While acknowledging existing collaboration between the association and security agencies, Mr. Dwumfour noted that current security arrangements have proven inadequate in curbing the growing threats against journalists in the region.
As part of its demands, the GJA is calling for sustained police protection for journalists at risk, expedited investigations into all reported threats, and the identification, arrest, and prosecution of individuals and networks responsible for issuing threats or inciting violence against media practitioners.
The association has also urged the Ghana Police Service to publicly denounce attacks on journalists and clearly demonstrate its intolerance for any form of aggression against members of the media.
“We put the state on notice that any attack on a journalist in the Upper East Region—especially where prior threats have been formally reported—will be treated as a failure of protection,” Mr. Dwumfour warned. “Such incidents will attract sustained national and international advocacy until accountability is secured.”
In a further move to enhance press safety, the GJA announced that it has officially designated the Bawku area as an ‘early warning zone’ for press freedom and journalist safety. This designation, according to the association, calls for heightened vigilance, proactive security deployment, and continuous engagement with journalists operating in the area.
The GJA reiterated its commitment to defending press freedom and ensuring that journalists can carry out their constitutional duties without fear, intimidation, or violence.
Source: BlueWaves Radio 93.7 FM |Maurice Duncan
