Angel TV gutted by fire

The offices and studios of Angel Broadcasting Network (ABN) were razed down by fire on Sunday evening.

The building, which houses the network’s television station in the heart of Madina, a suburb of Accra, caught flames on the night of August 15, according to sources.

In a video circulating on social media, the previously high-spirited studio has been reduced into grey powder and embers.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Phylx Akakpo (@iamphylxgh)

Not even the metallic chairs were spared as everything appears to have been completely destroyed by the fire. The cause of the fire is unknown but the television station has since gone off-air although the network’s radio station is still broadcasting.

Management of the station is yet to make any official pronouncement about the incident. The Ghana Report can also confirm that the burning of the building on Sunday night did not feature in the new items presented on the flagship news at noon on Monday, August 16.

ABN is owned by Dr Kwaku Oteng, a private businessman with investments in beverages, medicinal products and media.

In recent times, ABN’s Angel FM lost its biggest asset in the experienced radio presenter Captain Smart due to disagreements with Dr Oteng over what Smart alleged as editorial commentary.

But just about 48 hours after officially announcing his resignation from ABN, Captain Smart joined Media General’s Onua FM.

He was unveiled on TV3’s New Day as the host for Onua FM’s morning show.

“I  have come to join Media General because it is the general among media groups in the country…and as usual of me, there will be fireworks from Monday to Fridays on Onua FM every morning,” he said on June 1. “We will have Onua Nkomo, and the others will follow, but Fridays will be extraordinary”.

On Wednesday, May 5, 2021, Smart was suspended by Dr Oteng, after having been accused of slandering President Nana Akufo-Addo, Vice-President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Trade Minister, Alan Kyematen and then Inspector General of Police (IGP), James Oppong-Boanuh.

But the radio host, born Blessed Godsbrain Smart, insists his criticisms were not verbal attacks against Akufo-Addo’s government.

“Well, the letter (suspension letter) says that I have been too hard on Nana Addo, the Vice President… They said I have been using some harsh words on the President, the Vice President, and then the IGP and that he’s called me on several occasions to stop those things. I am not stopping, and for that month, I should proceed on suspension for one month,” he said in an interview on Metro TV.