Full details of gospel musician Francis Amo's arrest

On Monday, April 20, 2026, news broke that celebrated Ghanaian gospel musician Francis Amo had reportedly been detained by the Ghana Police Service following a copyright complaint linked to the Church of Pentecost.

According to reports, the singer was arrested in the early hours of April 20, detained, and later granted bail. The alleged reason was a copyright infringement involving a song believed to be owned by the Church of Pentecost.

Intellectual Property Consultant and University of Education, Winneba lecturer Dr Oduro Arhin, appeared on Max TV on the morning of April 21 to outline the sequence of events.

Dr Arhin explained that the relationship between Francis Amo and the Church of Pentecost dates back to at least 2008, with the musician regularly invited to record songs and perform during church activities free of charge.

“This recent Easter, he was invited to record some songs as usual. So one of the songs, he said he liked the song and told one of the elders that he wanted to make a cover version and release it as his own. The song was written by a certain Elder Moses and Francis Amo’s cover, which was a worship version of the song.

“So one of the pastors asked him to write an official letter, which he did, and he was allowed to proceed. He recorded it and uploaded it on the streaming platforms on April 15, 2026,” he narrated.

The following day, Thursday, the same elder who had granted permission called and asked Amo to take the song down, a request he immediately honored.

However, the matter did not end there.

“The next day. Friday, April 18, Amo received a call from the Ghana Police Service Central Command in Accra, informing him that a lawyer affiliated with the Church of Pentecost had filed a criminal complaint of theft against him.

"He quickly called me and I told him this is not a criminal issue. So I accompanied him to the police station on Monday," Dr Arhin recounted.

Dr Arhin shared how Francis Amo was detained at the police counter from 11 am to 4 pm before being granted bail.

“It wasn't until around 3 pm, before we were taken to the CID office, where we made our case to some officers that this shouldn’t be an arrestable offence. He didn't steal anything. He had a good relationship with the church and had even asked for permission to cover the song. So why would he be reported as a thief?

“The police were very professional, and they understood. So he was granted bail, and we were asked to come today, April 21, to assist with investigations,” Dr Arhin recounted.

In his own submission, Dr Arhin said he was shocked by the development, citing how Francis Amo had maintained a good professional standard in all his relationships.

“I do not want to believe that someone within the church might have problems with him and intentionally sparked this just to tarnish his image,” Dr Oduro stated.

According to Dr Arhin, Francis Amo is currently in good spirits and is cooperating with the police.

The Church of Pentecost had not issued any public statement on the matter as of the time of filing this report.

ID/EB

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