Blogger Jeffrey Epprim Nyame of reportghana.net has been jailed for 30 days for publishing false news that caused panic bank withdrawals in 2022.
Blogger Jeffrey Epprim Nyame of reportghana.net has been jailed for 30 days for publishing false news that caused panic bank withdrawals in 2022.
The false news captioned, “Dollar account holders to get cedi at BoG rate for bank withdrawal effective 31st Oct?” was published on reportghana.net and shared on various WhatsApp platforms, causing fear and panic among the public.
Nyame admitted to publishing the false news but claimed to have obtained it from mynewsgh.com. However, investigations confirmed him as the author and publisher.
The court acquitted an IT professional held on a charge of abetment. The judge considered Nyame’s plea for forgiveness but emphasized the need for accurate reporting and discipline in journalism.
Background of the story as covered in 2023:
An Accra Circuit Court has commenced the trial of a blogger and an IT professional whose alleged actions in 2022 led to widespread panic withdrawals by dollar account holders.
The blogger, Jeffrey Eppirim Nyame, is charged with publishing false news, while the IT professional, Jeremiah Kobina Egyebeng, faces charges of abetting the crime. Several alleged accomplices remain at large. Both Nyame and Egyebeng have pleaded not guilty and have been granted bail, each set at GHC 20,000 with two sureties.
Presiding over the case, Judge Isaac Addo listened to testimony from Police Detective Sergeant Nach Kyeremeh of the Cybercrime Unit of the Ghana Police Service. Sergeant Kyeremeh was cross-examined by the defense lawyer, Gregory Kwadwo Asiedu.
In his testimony, Sergeant Kyeremeh confirmed his familiarity with the accused, stating that the Cyber Security Patrol team first discovered the contentious article online. He further revealed that the Bank of Ghana had verbally informed the police about the accused’s activities, which had sparked panic among bank customers leading to mass withdrawals.
The police reportedly investigated the original source of the article, and according to Sergeant Kyeremeh, they requested the accused to help trace the article’s source. However, the accused allegedly failed to assist. Under cross-examination, Sergeant Kyeremeh denied accusations that the police targeted Nyame and Egyebeng while ignoring the article’s original author.
In 2022, following a tip-off from the Bank of Ghana regarding the false publication, the accused were apprehended. This came shortly after President Akufo-Addo had issued a stern warning in a national address, stating that those spreading false information about the economy would face repercussions from security agencies.
Chief Inspector Richard Amoah, leading the prosecution, explained that cyber intelligence gathered by the police indicated that on October 27, 2022, Nyame had published an article on his news portal, reportghana.net. The article was titled: “Dollar account holders to get cedi at BoG rate for bank withdrawals effective 31st October?” This content was reportedly shared across various WhatsApp groups and social media platforms, triggering fear and panic among dollar account holders.
Investigations revealed that in 2019, Egyebeng had created a news portal for Nyame called reportghana.com. This portal, used for similar articles, was eventually shut down by Google for violating community standards due to user complaints. Subsequently, Egyebeng created a new portal, changing the domain from “dot com” to “dot net,” and registered it as reportghana.net on February 11, 2022. The new platform was intended to publish news and events in Ghana.
After the false news about the Central Bank was published, Nyame shared the article on multiple WhatsApp groups, including “reportghana news feed 1,” “reportghana news feed 2,” and “reportghana news feed 3,” each having over 160 active members. Nyame served as the administrator of these groups, with his personal phone numbers registered on the platforms.
The prosecution noted that the false news continued to circulate on social media. During the investigation, Nyame admitted to publishing the article but claimed he sourced it from mynewsgh.com. However, investigations determined that Nyame was the original author and publisher. Egyebeng also admitted to creating the news portal used by Nyame.
The prosecution indicated that other individuals involved in the publication were still at large, with efforts ongoing to apprehend them. The case has been adjourned to October 18, 2023.
