Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei-Mensah is downplaying concerns security personnel in the region have been engaged in excesses as part of efforts to enforce the Covid-19 lockdown.

This comes after, global news network, Deutsche Welle (DW) wrote to the Information Ministry, seeking immediate justice for one of its journalist who was allegedly assaulted by an army officer.

Yussif Abdul Ganiyu is the General Manager of DW’s partner station Zuria FM in Kumasi and a correspondent for DW’s Hausa programme.

But Mr Osei Mensah said journalists are exempted from the lockdown so if indeed the DW journalist was assaulted as he claimed then he was doing something he wasn’t supposed to.

“You do something and a security personnel is asking you to get away from it since it may endanger us, why then do you continue. It is not a good practice.”

Speaking to Joy News after Parliament's Defence and Interior Committee met the Ashanti Regional Security Council, he noted that investigations are been carried out on all alleged military brutalities.

“Whoever will be found culpable will not be shielded. The security service deal with their own people more than we think.”

He said that residents in lockdown areas have mixed reaction about the work of the security officials adding that most of the videos circulation on social media on police excesses are fake.

“If you take the lockdown areas into consideration, there are mixed reactions from the general public that the security agencies or operatives are too soft and are not dealing with the people as they should.”