T.B. Joshua guards detain journalists

A church programme by the founder and leader of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), Prophet T.B. Joshua in Accra Tuesday has caused an unprecedented traffic in the capital.

Thousands of worshipers have flocked the church on the Spintex Road to be a part of the historic visit of the popular man of God who has millions of followers across the world.

Detention

In the heat of the service, some journalists who were taking coverage of the service were detained for several hours by security officials of the church.

Their crime, Emmanuel Anteh, a journalist with Joy News on Multi-TV, narrated to Myjoyonline.com, was that they did not ask for permission before filming at the church premises.

Anteh's cameraman, Gilbert Azu, was also detained in the process of doing his job.

Interestingly, while the Multi-TV team was detained for an hour, journalists from NET 2 television appeared the unlucky ones. They were held captive at 6am Tuesday but as of midday, they were still being held in detention.

Due to the historic church service, the entire Spintex enclave has been swamped by a fleet of cars, causing heavy and unbearable traffic on an already traffic prone road.

Although the service was billed to start at 7am, reports say members started flooding the church as early as 2am.

Nim tree branches selling hot for GH¢1

Although the church has provided tents for worshippers outside the main church auditorium, the provision was clearly not enough as hundreds of patrons could be seem seated in the scorching sun.

Some have improvised their own means of getting away the heavy lashes of the sun rays. They used clothes, books, cartons, and file to escape the scorching sun, but for the unlucky ones, they have to bear an extra cost of buying nim tree branches for shelter.

There were brisk businessmen who were busily selling these nim tree branches for GH¢1.

Chief Superintendent Alhaji Mohammed Suraj, Commanding Officer of the Accra Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) told Joy News in an interview that they are working around the clock to control the traffic situation in the area.

He said effective mechanisms have been put in place to ensure smooth vehicular movements in the area as well as an interrupted church service.