Investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, has challenged his accusers to prove allegations of corruption against him.
This comes barely a day after Assin Central MP, Kennedy Agyapong showed a video which sought to reveal how Anas allegedly manipulated evidence in his work for personal gains.
The video, titled ‘Who watches the watchman’, was shown publicly and watched by hundreds of people at Madina, in front of Net 2 Television.
But speaking on Accra-based Joy FM, Anas said he will respond appropriately to the accusations aimed at denting his image.
“In the last few days, I have been called a murderer. That I had murdered J.B Danquah. In fact, recently, I heard that I had even called the BNI and they had opened the place for me and I had gone to deceive or I had gone to tell the murderer that he should mention some people’s names in the murder. All those who say they have evidence and say I have been bought, let them take this evidence to the Police,” he said.
“I have been accused of extortion all because of #Number12. In four days, what have I not gone through? So those who say I can be bought, I have gone to the court of law to establish my case and again I do not want to sound prejudicial, but we are in a law governed society and they will have their day in court to prove what I did and what I did not do,” Anas added.
Many have questioned the modus operandi Anas deploys in his work, following his latest exposé on corruption in Ghana football.
Some have argued that the laws of Ghana do not condone secretly recording someone and using it as evidence against victims.
One avid critic of Anas’ work has been Kennedy Agyapong, who in a series of media interviews ahead of the premiere of the exposé dubbed “Number12” accused Anas of entrapping persons captured in the investigative film.
He described Anas as very corrupt and alleged that he was fond of taking bribes to exempt some persons he captures in his investigative films.
However, Editor-In-Chief of the New Crusading Guide, Abdul-Malik Kwaku Baako came to Anas’ defence, saying the techniques used by his protégé were right.
Mr. Baako indicated that Anas’ undercover journalism is recognized worldwide.
Commenting on the impact of his Number 12 , Anas explained how former GFA boss Kwasi Nyantakyi came under his radar saying “a prima facie evidence had established that it was just a habit and indeed I got it like that. The reason why we do prima facie is to save us the journalists. It reduces cost, it gives precision.You know exactly what you are looking for.”
“In getting into every investigation, you need to get a dossier that the person you are investigating is not a one-off fishing expedition and that the person is in the habit of committing the crime that you say he has committed and this material is built and kept as our defence in court so for every investigation you should have built that dossier, ”he added.
‘I have no regrets’
He also justified his decision to show the work to the President before its premiere.
“We are talking about the President of the nation and the Vice President who we all voted for. We are talking about Ministers of state. When the news had been dropped what do you think would have happened if I did not speak to them and I deliberately put the work out. As I said, as we do this work, we are subjected to court suits.
“I could have easily been sued if I had not asked them their side. Let me put on record that I have no regrets going to the President, I have no regrets going to the Vice President. I have no regrets speaking to the Ministers involved and finding their side of the story because that is journalistic, that is ethical, that is what we always ought to do. If I get this story tomorrow again, I will go back and speak to them because their side also matter.”
