The cybercrime suspects whose arrests sparked heated debate have been granted police enquiry bail.
Two staffers of Modern Ghana – an online portal – were arrested by National Security operatives last week while another – Yaw Obeng Manu of Peace FM – was picked up on Tuesday.
The National Security is said to have handed the case over to the police and Mr. Obeng Manu is said to have been granted GH¢200,000 enquiry bail.
The National Security arrested the journalists because they suspect they are behind the hacking of some prominent media portals in the country.
While the National Security Secretariat arrested Emmanuel Ajarfor and Emmanuel Britwum before their transfer to the police, Yaw Obeng Manu was referred to the Greater Accra Regional Police Command where notice of his arrest was relayed to him formally.
The next process was for him to be granted bail as investigations into the case continued.
Different Statements
Having earlier said he was arrested because of an opinion piece carried on Modern Ghana portal, Emmanuel Ajarfor said on Peace FM later in the evening that the security agents questioned him about how he accessed Peace FM emails.
He reportedly pointed at Obeng Manu as the source of the access to the Peace FM platform, having furnished him with the password of the channel.
Emmanuel Ajarfor the man who accused the security agents of torturing him with electric shocks and elbowing said his colleague, Emmanuel Britwum, was introduced to Modern Ghana by Obeng Manu. He added that Obeng Manu employed him as a reporter at the Publisher newspaper before he ended up at Modern Ghana online portal.
Discredits Denial
Emmanuel Ajarfor Abugri said it is untrue the denial by the National Security Secretariat that he was not tortured.
Medical Examination Report
The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) medical examination report on suspect Emmanuel Ajarfor Abugri is yet to be received.
Torture, the statement pointed out, is not part of the architecture of the National Security Council Secretariat in the current dispensation.
The statement was categorical in pointing out that the suspects were engaged in inappropriate cyber activities.
Partisan Flavour
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has jumped into the fray originating from the ongoing investigations into the hacking accusations against the suspects.
NGOs engaged in upholding media freedom have described the investigation as an attempt at gagging journalists.
Cybercrime In Ghana
Cybercrime cost Ghana US$105 in 2018 through an assortment of extortions, hacking and others, Dr. Gustav Yankson, Director of the Cybercrime Unit of the CID, said recently.
“With regard to the cybercrime cases we received last year, fraud was number one constituting 60 per cent and followed by various forms of intrusion while extortion placed third,” he disclosed.
The law enforcement agency had earlier served notice of its readiness to deal with cybercrime which currently is a major issue confronting even the developed countries.
Many youths have perfected the art of hacking into servers of major entities that they appear sometimes to be ahead of the security agencies.
Many Ghanaians are watching with keen eyes how the current case is going to pan out especially against the effort to give the subject human rights and weaken it. The NDC is feasting on it with gusto.
The security agencies have not given details about developments as regards the Obeng Manu case, with yesterday being a typical example.
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