Ace investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas has fired back at the controversial video which was purported to have captured Anas receiving bribes. Speaking at Commonwealth Hall, Old Vandals Jamboree 2018 on Sunday 1st July, he mentioned that the video was empty and lacks substantial evidence of the alleged transactions where physical cash was exchange depicting bribe or any corrupt activities.
The issue begun when Tiger eye Pi premiered the “Number 12” video which captured nagging issues in the football fraternity. Anas mentioned that, the video which was premiered on 6th June 2018 at the Accra International Conference Centre captured 77 referees and other football administrators including Vice President of CAF Mr. Kwesi Nyantetyi accepting bribes.
Anas further retorted to the claim made by Member of Parliament for Assin Central, on. Kennedy Agyapong an allegation that the ace journalist was corrupt and few weeks ago threatened to expose Investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas. Hon. Kennedy went ahead to premier his compiled version “Who watches the watchman”.
The much anticipated video only showed scenes of meeting by Anas unfortunately the video did not show any physical cash or any monetary items exchange by the journalist.
Anas , an Old Vandal of Commonwealth Hall shared that, criticism are allowed in every spheres of life but more importantly must be backed by substantial evidence. He added that truth must always stand which knows no political lines.
“The name of this game is evidence, you can make all the noise, but if you don’t have the evidence, you can never do anything…Truth does not know any political party or people, Truth Stands anywhere, whether partisan or bipartisan, truth would always stand” he said.
Anas who used figurative expression to address the resent issues and allegation surrounding Number 12 and how some session of Ghanaians were misguided to believe the worse of Anas and his method of journalism.
“Just about one month ago, I was the saint, the father of everybody and everybody looked at me fondly, then I decided to touch on a subject called football which had political interpretation. Then all of the sudden I realised I was a murderer, I was an extortionist, I take bribes, so I asked myself so all these years, didn’t you see this, why are you now telling me, you didn’t know so if you knew and didn’t say it why? What is the problem. So, Number 12 is a football story, we had 77 referee taking bribes” Anas mentioned.
He added that he was motivated to investigate the nagging issues surrounding football which as a result Number 12 was produced. Anas explained that, the May 9 disaster reports which hinted on bad officiating as one of the cause further made him pay critical attention to that undercover project.
“Then came the report after the death, which said poor officiating so I thought that at my own time and investigate whether poor officiating indeed contributes to some of these troubles within the football fraternity, so I did go there, you could buy and sell red and yellow cards, buy any game whether Kotokor or Hearts, you could get people transferred into the National Teams, thus how Number 12 came about” he noted.
How the investigation started
“During the May 9 disaster, a friend of my happened to have called me and ask me to go to the morgue to check whether one of our friends was dead. So in the face of all this dead bodies that I came across, it occurred to me that there was something wrong in football and I needed to take time to investigate the issues” he explained.
Explaining how Number 12 started, Anas alluded that in Football fraternity, red and yellow cards as well as the match could be bought so he decided to uncover the issues within football backed by evidence.
“I can tell you that, my story of Number 12 is backed fully by evidence, everything that I said in Number 12, there is evidence to support it “he stated.
Anas finally added that after the Number 12, he sent a copy to FIFA, the World Football Governing Body and appropriate sanctions had been applied.
“Of course there was a state operation led to Kwesi Nyantetyi because I sent to FIFA a copy and after reviewing it decided he should be suspended from football” he explained.
The President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) Kwesi Nyantakyi was captured on the Number 12 videos negotiating a deal with an investor and later accepted a bribe of $65,000 and placed it in a black polythene bag.
Meanwhile, the Anas expressed his remarkable experience when he was a student in Commonwealth Hall. He mentioned that he was “ponded” and also “ponded’ other Vandals and song with his colleagues which drew massive cheers, and laughter from the audience.
By: Emmanuel Hanson/Ghanadailies.com