The case in which a female photo-journalist of DAILY GUIDE, Ghana�s leading private newspaper, Gifty Lawson, was assaulted by operatives of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), has taken a different and interesting twist.
Gifty was attacked and molested on January 11, 2012 by armed BNI officials when she attempted to take a shot of Deputy Superintendant of Police (DSP) Gifty Mawuenyega Tehoda, the police officer at the centre of the cocaine-turned-soda powder saga.
Whilst awaiting the outcome of a formal complaint of assault lodged by Gifty against the BNI operatives, at the Ministries Police Station, the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has brought fresh charges against another staff of DAILY GUIDE, Michael Awampaga, who accompanied Gifty on the assignment that caused her the brutal treatment.
Michael, who is a staff of the company�s security department, was informed of the charge of assault yesterday when he was asked to report at the CID headquarters.
The police claimed he assaulted officials of the BNI who were performing their duty on the day in question.
Michael was one of the two security men who were detailed to protect Gifty from any such attack because of the previous day�s experience in which relations of DSP Tehoda attacked her.
But when Gifty attempted to take a photograph the following day, the BNI descended upon her.
What Michael sought to do was to serve as a human shield for his female colleague whose attack from the security personnel at the scene seemed imminent.
The BNI operatives then threatened to shoot the unarmed and innocuous young man in the full glare of the public including lawyers, other journalists and friends of the court who expressed shock at what looked like an action-packed movie from Hollywood.
The two co-workers were subsequently molested and forced into some waiting vehicles including a Mahindra pick-up with registration number CR 1599-10, a Toyota Corolla registered ER 1109-10 and a Toyota Camry bearing the number GE 1584 W.
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