I discussed football, alcohol with BNI officials- Citi FM boss

The General Manager of Accra-based Citi FM, Mr Samuel Attah Mensah, who Monday  night was ‘released’ by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) after he was invited for questioning, says he was not detained and interrogated per se.

Speaking after he left BNI custody, Mr Atta Mensah said he was questioned for only about three minutes, after which he discussed social issues with his interrogators.

“I gave them an account of what happened and it took three minutes, and then we used another 45 minutes to one hour talking about everything from football, to alcohol to religion and everything,” he was quoted as saying by citifmonline.com.

On while he  was not interrogated in the presence of his lawyer, Mr Mensah  said,  “I insisted on going with my lawyer and it only turns out that my lawyer came in late so when I got there, I parked my car and went in there. At the time that we were leaving, I realised that my lawyer was there but they refused to allow the lawyer to go with me.”

According to Mr Attah Mensah, his interrogators told him that he did not need a lawyer because he would not be formally interrogated.

“We had an initial back and forth for about 10 minutes but they still did not allow my lawyer. I told them that if they kept me for more than an hour, they will create their own news out there. So it will be in their interest to do the interrogation as quickly as they can so I go my way,” he added.

News of the Citi FM boss’ ‘arrest’ by the BNI has been widely condemned by the public, with many accusing the BNI of infringing upon media freedom as well the freedom of speech and expression.