A JoyNews reporter got assaulted while on duty reporting the arrest of the New Patriotic Party (NPP)'s Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) yesterday.

Latif Iddrisu, who was engaging supporters of the opposition party that massed up at the EOCO office, demanding the release of Wontumi, was hit at the back of his head by a male supporter.

"I have been assaulted by these individuals on live television," the frustrated journalist bemoaned.

Before being assaulted, some NPP supporters accused Latif of biased reporting and hit him with some objects.

Officials of the Economic and Organised Crime Office today arrested Chairman Wontumi, after he appeared before the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service on Tuesday.

This recent attack that has been downplayed by a section of the general public follows several others that have had an adverse impact on the lives of the victims.

"Massa this is just a tap on the head .. stop being a drama queen," an X user wrote in reaction to the assault against Latif Iddrisu.

Amid the surging attacks against journalists, the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has urged the Ghana Police Service to take swift action in arresting and prosecuting individuals who attack media practitioners.

GJA President Albert Kwabena Dwumfour made the call during a news conference at the Ghana International Press Centre, emphasizing the need to defend media freedom and address the alarming rate of attacks on journalists.

He noted that these attacks have been a major drawback to Ghana's World Press Freedom Index in recent years, but the GJA is poised to reset this narrative.

The GJA has called on all stakeholders, including the Executive, Legislature, Judiciary, and civil society organizations, to help address the issue of attacks on media practitioners.

Meanwhile, a section of the public is calling on the police to arrest the individual who assaulted Latif Iddrisu.

To reaffirm their commitment to press freedom, the police are expected to act expeditiously. Also, the management of Multimedia Group Limited, the employer of Latif Iddrisu, is yet to officially comment on the matter.