One of the men, who were in charge of security at the “Ghana Rock” musical show which took place in the Dome, at the Accra International Conference Centre over the Christmas holidays, pulled a gun during the event on Monday December 27, 2010.
The security officer, reported to be a member of the National security squad on the night, physically assaulted Mr. Lawrence Asiamah, better known as Bull Dog, a music producer and artiste-manager at the entrance of the Dome as he tried to enter. According to peacefmonline sources, after he tried to enter for the first time and he was stopped, Bull Dog who is also a staff of Charter House, (organizers of the event), tried to explain to the officer that, he is part of the organizers, but the National Security Officer who was not ready to listen to him was, hit Bull Dog and pushed him to move back.
Bull Dog in retaliation kicked the officer with his leg; tempers went high and the officer pulled out a fully loaded pistol and threatened to shoot Bull Dog if he makes any attempt to come close to him. Mr. Lawrence Asiamah a.k.a. Bull Dog has confirmed the incident in an interview with peacefmonline.com. He said before the incident he had walked in and out of the auditorium several times but the officer claimed he didn’t know him.
He said after the officer pulled out the gun and pointed it in his face; he (the officer) threatened that he would take him to the castle or lock him up somewhere if he (Bull Dog) challenges him. Bull Dog said had it not been for the timely intervention of his bosses and other guys from Charter House, something very serious would have happened, because he was very upset at the time and could have done anything to defend himself.
Bull Dog who is still nursing a cut he sustained from the officer’s punch, is a senior graphic Designer at Charter House. He has managed and produced artistes like: 5Five, Nii among others. Currently, he is the producer and manager of Reggae/Dancehall artiste Iwan, under his record label Bull Haus Entertainment.
Other people also faced the same frustration with the National Security Officers. Fennec Okyere who is the manager for the Dome, the Venue where the event was taking place, had a similar incident with an officer which almost resulted in a boxing bout. Fennec expressed his displeasure, when peacefmonline spoke to him. He said as operators of the Dome, he will make sure organizers who use his venue do not bring such unprofessional security officers.
Fred Nuamah Organiser of Ghana Movie Award, Edward Boateng Peacefmonline.com photographer, and many others were also given a hard time at the entrance. Security seems to be a major problem lately during Charter House events.
Similar incidents happened at the same venue during last year’s Ghana Movie Awards night, when a foreign security officer imported from Togo, slapped hi-life singer King David who had been nominated for an award on the night. Peacefmonline is watching keenly to see what Charter House will do to improve security at their next event to protect our celebrities and event patrons.
