Posted
on: www.dailyguideghana.com
By
William Yaw Owusu
Friday,
September 01, 2017
The report of attack put up by National
Democratic Congress (NDC) General Secretary Johnson Asiedu-Nketia is turning
out to be a hoax, as an eyewitness claims there was no attack on the man,
popularly called General Mosquito.
Businessman Joe Forson, who claims he was at
the scene where Mr. Asiedu-Nketia claimed that he was attacked, has descended
heavily on the opposition NDC chief scribe, saying he was never attacked by any
gun-wielding thugs.
“I am
shocked at Asiedu Nketia’s claim.....it is never true. Nobody was tortured. It
is not good for an old man like him to be lying through his teeth at this age
when the country has moved on......” apparently angry Mr. Forson said on radio.
Last Monday, information went viral that Mr.
Asiedu-Nketia had been attacked by some armed men at Obretema, near Suhum in
the Eastern Region on the Accra-Kumasi Highway.
He said some AK 47 assault rifle-wielding men
attacked him on his way from his hometown, Seikwa, in the Tain District of the
Brong-Ahafo Region.
The reported six gunmen said to be wielding
the rifles and other sophisticated weapons and wearing masks were driving a
Toyota Tundra with registration number GT 666-12 and accosted him (Asiedu
Nketia) and other occupants of his vehicle and harassed them.
Fake Story
Later, the NDC General Secretary narrated the
story to radio stations in an effort to court public sympathy regarding the
alleged incident.
General Mosquito said on Asempa FM on Monday
that the men got down from their vehicle brandishing the AK 47 rifles and went
ahead to grab the driver in the vehicle they (men) stopped.
He claimed that it took his intervention and
that of a soldier friend of his to rescue that driver.
“I had a friend army officer who was with me
in the car so he got down first and identified himself and asked them what was
their problem.....I am not sure whether they are armed robbers because nobody
made any attempt to rob me of my hard earned money or other valuables,” he
said.
Pure Fabrication
Mr. Forson told DAILY GUIDE in a follow-up interview
that there was nothing like an attack and narrated that some people were trying
to follow the convoy of a chief called Nana Odeneho.
He said Mr. Asiedu-Nketia engaged in pure
fabrication when he said he was attacked and said it was clear that the NDC man
was lying to make the government look bad in the eyes of the public.
“I was rather stopped and he came to meet us
at the stop but he was not attacked.....It’s not true because he was not there
and was only briefed so I am shocked at his account,..,” he added.
Asiedu Nketia, according to Mr. Forson, after
moving from one radio station to the other repeating the story, later called
him (Mr. Forson) for some details to spice up his account.
“He called me this morning (Tuesday) to listen
to the true version so he can change his old untrue account on radio...,” Mr
Joe Forson claimed.
The businessman, who said he was shocked by
the accounts, challenged the NDC chief scribe to meet him and other drivers who
were at the supposed scene of the incident and re-tell his ‘fabricated’ story.
“I want to meet Asiedu Nketia and his driver
so I can challenge him on these claims. I am shocked an old man like him can
make these unsubstantiated claims,” Mr Forson told a radio station.
Mosquito’s Trauma
The NDC General Secretary said later on Joy FM
that the incident had left him traumatized and claimed he had not been able to
report for work after that.
“I have been traumatized but the matter has
been reported to the police,” he claimed.
He even claimed that he also witnessed an
attack on a motorist on his way to Accra from his village sometime ago, trying
to create the impression that there is fear of insecurity in the country.
Propaganda
Later, National Communications Officer of the
NDC, Solomon Nkansah, issued a statement condemning the supposed attack on
their General Secretary and his entourage and creating the impression that the
ruling NPP government had a hand in it.
Mr. Nkansah, who was formerly NDC propaganda
secretary before the office was changed to communications, said the blame should
go to the Akufo-Addo-led government.
He justified his statement by saying that the
government’s attitude towards activities of militant groups was fueling the
spate of attacks in the country.
Formal Complaint
Mr. Asiedu-Nketiah later said he had given the
police all the necessary evidence to enable them to conduct their own
investigations, saying, “It will be extremely miraculous for anyone to say that
they don’t have information on the matter.”
Asked why the NDC is trying to link the NPP
government in the matter, he said he could be held responsible for the
statement issued by Solomon Nkansah, but insisted that the statement was
supposed to be a solidarity message, which did not need his permission.
General Mosquito said his party officers were
at liberty to interpret the situation the way they deemed fit because they had
seen some pictures from the encounter.
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