Nigeria's controversial "miracle man," Prophet T.B. Joshua, has a lot of influence in Ghana emanating not only from his close association with deceased President John Atta-Mills but also from his ties to some high-ranking members of the New Patriotic Party.

But a recent incident in which Mr. Joshua's bodyguards detained some journalists in Ghana has revealed the level of influence and power he actually wields in the West African nation.

On May 7, 2013, Mr. Joshua, who is the General Overseer of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), landed in Accra for a special event at the Spintex Road branch of his church.

Media reports indicate that the event was well hyped and that a huge crowd flocked to the venue to see the renowned televangelist. The crush of people created a traffic nightmare on Spintex Road.

T.B. Joshua's program was billed to start at 7 a.m. However, many of his followers started arriving as early as 2 a.m. Since Ghana's Police Motor and Traffic Unit (MTTU) had not been advised of the event, no preparation was made to contain the situation. Consequently, many motorists were caught up in the horrendous traffic snarl for hours.
The event had also attracted a lot of press attention, but two journalists who went there to cover the resultant traffic chaos were seized by
bodyguards ostensibly hired by the church to
protect Pastor Joshua. In brash contravention of
Ghanaian laws, the bodyguards detained
Emmanuel Anteh and his cameraman Gilbert Azu of
the Multimedia Group for over two hours. Another
group of journalists, Abdul Wahab Giwah and Seth
Yeboah, cameramen from Net 2 Television, were
also detained for over six hours.

According to Mr. Anteh, the bodyguards approached
them as they were filming the crowd and invited
them into the church, promising to give them a
better spot to film from. But once the cameramen
were lured into the church premises, the
bodyguards tried to confiscate their equipment. The
journalists were then locked up in a room where
the reporters from Net 2 TV were already being
held.
After several hours, Superintendent Alex
Kumankani of the Ghana Police Service intervened
and the hostages were released.
The illegal detention of reporters has sparked
widespread condemnation from civil society groups
and activists. The Ghana Journalists Association
(GJA) called for an apology from the church, which
the church reportedly tendered. A source said the
General Overseer even invited the journalists to
personally apologize to them, but this development
was not confirmed. However, SaharaReporters
learnt that the Church hierarchy issued a prompt
apology.
Despite the church's apology, many Ghanaian civil
society advocates are wondering how the
bodyguards took the license to stop journalists
from carrying out their duties. "Did the bodyguards
have the right to place journalists under arrest?"
asked an Accra-based lawyer. He added, "Were the
bodyguards' actions not tantamount to
kidnapping?"
One of the critics told SaharaReporters that she
was shocked at the chilling silence maintained by
journalists. "Journalists are normally very loud
when issues like this occur with politicians, and
they readily band together to condemn such
infractions when they are committed against one of
their own," she said. Then she added that the same
journalists "seem to have no major problems with
such a gross impediment to press freedom and
abuse of basic human rights. Does it mean that
journalists are so afraid of Pastor Joshua's
connections to the high and mighty in Ghana that
their tongues are tied?"
In a recent interview with SaharaTV, Fortune Alimi,
editor of the Daily Guide newspaper, stated that
T.B. Joshua has courted a lot of bad press in Ghana
and that he had rendered an apology. Mr. Alimi
seemed to suggest that, since Joshua's church had
offered an apology, it should be the end of the
matter.

**is this right?**

Source » http://naijasniffer..co.uk/2013/05/pastor-tb-joshuas-bodyguards-detain.html

This is too bad!them go think say na so im de power Nig no sorry,I mean lagos because nigeria is too big for him.

Kingslaw: This is too bad!them go think say na so im de power Nig no sorry,I mean lagos because nigeria is too big for him.

Hope you also heard about the stampede that led to the death of four.