The Media Foundation for West Africa has condemned the violent attack and assault on two Ghanaian journalists, Carlos Calony and Jonas Dodzi Voegborio, by the National Security operatives.

Messrs Calony and Voegborlo, who worked for JoyNews, were attacked on Wednesday while covering the demolition of a warehouse, allegedly linked to the McDan Group, at Spintex in Accra, Ghana’s capital city.

Mr Calony was arrested and detained at the National Security Headquarters in Accra.

The security forces also assaulted an eyewitness whom the journalists were interviewing.

MFWA said the attack on the journalists was the second in less than a month in which security officers attacked reporters for doing their professional job in line of duty.

“The MFWA considers the attacks on Carlos Calony, Jonas Sodzi Voergborlo, and the eyewitness who was being interviewed as a gross violation of human dignity and constitutional protections of press freedom under Article 162 of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution,” the group said in a statement on Thursday.

Expressing displeasure at the conduct of the National Security operatives, the MFWA stated that recent operations constitute a flagrant disregard for constitutional rights and human dignity.

It also called on the government to take “these concerns seriously” and address the excesses of the National Security operatives.  

While noting that it was aware that the presidency had condemned the attack and ordered an investigation, MFWA said the country’s minister of defence and the National Security coordinator must bring the perpetrators to book.

“While this is welcomed, the MFWA demands that the Minister for Defence and the National Security Coordinator attend to this urgently and with the highest level of transparency,” the group added in the statement.

The assault on the journalists comes barely a day after Ghana’s President John Mahama called on African governments to safeguard press freedom and the civic rights of marginalized groups at the 13th High-Level Dialogue on Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance in Africa, held in Addis Ababa.

The Ghanaian president had affirmed that democracy cannot thrive in the presence of fear and repression.