The Economic Fighters League has condemned and called for swift investigations into the unfortunate incident of January 5, 2021 where an unknown individual stormed the premises of Zylofon FM, in search of ace radio broadcaster and musician, Blakk Rasta, who was then on-air presenting his late afternoon show, the Taxi Driver Show.
In a strange twist of events, the unknown individual was shot, arrested and detained by the East Legon police, but he was able to escape under their watch.
The Fighter-General of the Economic Fighters League, Hardi Yakubu described the happening as “completely unacceptable for someone who tried to kill Blakk Rasta to just escape from police custody.”
He stated further that, “we cannot accept that. Someone has to answer questions.”
A statement issued by managers of the station said the unknown man invaded the premises of the station at about 4:00 pm that fateful Tuesday after breaching security protocols.
“This man went to the station’s server room, succeeding in disconnecting some of our cables, therefore, shutting down transmission before threatening the life of the host of the Taxi Driver Show, Blakk Rasta, known in private life as Abubakar Ahmed,” the statement read.
The statement added that “It was unclear what the real motive of this assailant was, but he engaged security details at the premises in a scuffle and sprayed a strange content into their eyes while baying for the blood of Black Rasta as he struggled to break into the studio during the live transmission of the Black Pot segment on the Taxi Driver Show.”
Hardi Yakubu continued to say, “We sympathize with Blakk Rasta as one of the few in contemporary times whose music speaks to the African condition.”
He emphasized further that, “the system does not like the truth,” and also assured Ghanaians that, “…those of us who have chosen to tell truth to power cannot be silenced.”
Mr Yakubu condemned also the hostile and unfriendly conditions under which journalists practice saying, “we also unreservedly condemn attacks on and abuses of courageous journalists who are only doing their duty of shedding light on the rot of the system, the likes of Manasseh Azure Awuni etc.”
Other Cases
Blakk Rasta’s case is just one of many threats directed at journalists after the December 7 polls.
Abdul Hayi Moomen, a journalist with GTV was threatened by unidentified individuals who told him they knew where he and his family lived and would deal with them. He later lodged an official complaint to the Nima police.
Another journalist, Manasseh Azure Awuni received a death threat on Christmas Day over an article he had written over the outcome of the disputed December 7 elections. A threatening mail was sent to him reminding him of the murder of former investigative journalist, Ahmed Suale. The mail further said they will not hesitate to eliminate Mr Awuni like they did to Ahmed Suale if conditions demand.
These threats come on the heels of similar threats made against journalists of the private media organization the Multimedia Group by disgruntled individuals on social media. The threats, which were targeted at journalists Evans Mensah, Winston Amoah, Philip Osei-Bonsu, Gifty Andoh-Appiah, Israel Laryea, compelled the management of the Multimedia Group to petition the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) of the Police.
The petition dated December 14, 2020, urged the Police to investigate the threats and arrest the perpetrators.
