Police in the Greater Accra Region has arrested broadcast journalist with Accra-based Onua FM and TV, Blessed Godsbrain Smart popularly known as Captain Smart over some comments he is said to have made calling for an insurrection.
According to a press statement singed by the Public Relations officer of the Greater Accra Regional Police, DPS Juliana Obeng, Captain Smart was arrested on Thursday, December 2, 2021 “following some unsavory pronouncements that hinge on peace and security”.
The statement indicated that he has been provisionally charged with offensive conduct conducive to breaches of the peace and is currently in police custody assisting investigations.
“He has been cautioned on the offense of offensive conduct conducive to breaches of the peace as provided under section 207 of the Criminal Act, 1960 (Act 29). He is presently in police custody assisting the investigations,” excerpts of the statement said.
His arrest comes on the back of a statement by the National Media Commission (NMC) to management of Onua FM raising concerns about the Journalist’s utterances in a broadcast in which he allegedly called for insurrection against the state and institutions.
The NMC described his comments as unprofessional and inciteful, urging management to take steps to ensure professionalism in its broadcast going forward.
“We are particularly concerned about a recent broadcast in which ‘Captain Smart’ calls for insurrection against the state of Ghana and its institutions.This, by all standards, crosses the line of robust and critical broadcasting and transforms your radio station into a megaphone of war.
While that particular broadcast, without more, constitutes adequate grounds for regulatory action, we still retain the belief that given the chance, management could take steps to bring your content unto a level of professional acceptability. We are fortified in this belief by the fact that considerable parts of your other broadcast, including the news, offer that hope,” the NMC stated
