The journalists, including Erastus Asare Donkor, were attacked by armed men allegedly associated with Edelmetallum Resources Limited in the Ashanti Region. Over ten heavily armed individuals abducted the team, took them to an undisclosed location, subjected them to severe beatings, and later abandoned them.
The journalists were documenting the environmental destruction caused by illegal mining when the attack took place.
Speaking to Joy FM’s Newsnite, Kofi Adu Domfeh, News Editor at Luv FM, confirmed that the police have arrested three individuals in connection with the assault.
“Before they took us to the site, the police made us aware that three people had been arrested and two of them were actually identified as part of those who assaulted our crew.”
A series of troubling events unfolded when the Bekwai police escorted the journalists back to the area for identification purposes.
Domfeh stated that upon their arrival at the site, there was no one present.
The Police Commander leading the team informed the media crew that their security vehicles were unable to proceed beyond that location.
"What is interesting is that it became apparent that the Manso district police commander who led the officers would not want to travel further from where the incident actually happened, and he was giving some excuses that their new pickup vehicles could not travel that far."
The police further cautioned the journalists against taking photographs or filming the devastated land in the area.
"He clearly instructed us not to capture any images of the degraded site we visited today," Mr. Domfeh stated.
The team had been documenting the damage caused by illegal mining when the attack occurred.
Recent restoration efforts in the Asenanyo Forest Reserve have been undermined by another wave of destruction, with streams that feed into the Ankobra River also suffering.