The Managing Editor of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Kweku Baako has said that the TigerEye PI team and Anas Aremeyaw Anas will not hesitate to make available to the government the unedited footage of its latest investigative piece that exposes among others, government appointees undermining the anti-galamsey campaign.
According to him, the team has traditionally made its unedited video available to the appropriate investigative bodies to enable them investigate and bring the perpetrators to book.
He told Umaru Sanda Amadu on Eyewitness News on Thursday that, Anas Aremeyaw Anas and his TigerEye PI team have always seen as critical the need to make the raw files available in matters of public interest to the appropriate state authorities.
“In principle, I have nothing against the government requesting for the raw footage of the investigative piece done by Anas and his Tiger Eye PI. It is not an unusual request. It has happened on many occasions. When the judges’ matter came up, in filing the petition to the President as well as the Chief Justice, the full footage, the unedited version was given to the appropriate judicial authorities as part of their investigations of the judges that were implicated,” he said.
He said in instances such as the #Number12 investigation, which exposed corruption in Ghana football, the CID requested the raw and unedited footage which was made available to them.
The Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah at a press conference on Thursday said the government will act on the video documentary by investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw, which shows some officials of the Inter-ministerial Committee on illegal mining taking bribes and negotiating deals at a fee but that will be upon receipt of the unedited clips from the production team.
Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, told journalists that a thorough investigation would be conducted, and no one found culpable will be shielded.
“Government has taken notice of a documentary by Tiger Eye PI suggesting that it has uncovered acts that undermine the fight against illegal small scale mining. Government will have the said tapes properly investigated using the raw unedited footage and if any person is found to have solicited money or taken bribe to bend rules, the necessary actions will be taken,” he said.
But Kweku Baako said based on that custom, the team will be willing to make the clips available for further investigations to be conducted.
He added that the raw footages will even give more information and clarity to the edited documentary that has already aired on most television stations in the country.
“When #Number12 came up and the president decided to report Nyantakyi’s conduct to the CID relative to the influence peddling, the CID requested to initially watch the raw footage and that was obliged. There were others like the cocoa smuggling story….Because Anas and TigerEye have always had no difficulty in meeting such request, and have proceeded to provide those evidence to the appropriate agencies, I’m sure he will go according to the tradition, history and convention of TigerEye when it comes to issues of public interest. I’m sure Anas and Tiger will oblige to the request from government.
Confirming a petition by TigerEye PI to the Special Prosecutor, Kweku Baako said Anas has already handed the investigative video to the Office of the Special Prosecutor and will soon send the unedited footages to the Office of the Special Prosecutor if the office requests for it.
“Really, it is not a big deal as far as I’m concerned. The most important point is that, they presented a petition to the office of the Special Prosecutor to investigate the matter. I believe that they’ve started with giving him the edited version [to the office] and knowing the tradition, they will give the rashes [unedited videos] also to the office of the Special Prosecutor,” Kweku Baako added.
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By: citinewsroom.com | Ghana
