Mr Samuel Barrington Wilcox, a Journalist covering the 23rd African Cup of Nations has been arrested and placed in prison custody at the Bamako Central Prisons for his inability to pay his hotel bills totalling 443,700 FCFA, which translates into about five million cedis.

Mr Wilcox, who GNA investigations revealed is a Nigerian resident in Ghana, was accredited for the championship as Samuel Ankomah, a Ghanaian name. He arrived in Mali on January 21 and checked into Hotel Coulibris and assured the management of the hotel that he would pay his bills after a few days stay.

Mr Kone Mamoudu, manager of the hotel said the journalist made them believe that he was a rich man and they therefore allowed him to use their communication facilities, feed at the restaurant and drink at the bar on credit in addition to lodging.

He said as the days rolled by and Mr Wilcox did not make any attempt to pay his bills, he was approached and asked to do so. The hotel manager said by February 3, when the Black Stars were billed to play their quarterfinal match against Nigeria, they felt the result could go either way and chances were that he could depart with the Ghanaian team if they lost.

Mr Mamoudou said based on this assumption Mr Wilcox was prevailed upon to settle his bills but once again he failed to do so and the hotel had no other option than to report the matter to the police.

Consequently the “Ghanaian” journalist was arrested and placed in police cells while efforts were being made to contact his friends to settle the bill. At the Divisional Police Headquarters, a sergeant who refused to give his name said Mr Wilcox has been transferred to the Central Prison at Koura on the orders of Mr Djime Nourou Doumbia, Director General of the National Police. He said the journalist would only be released if he paid his bills.

Mr Wilcox is said to be a contributor to Africa Sports, a bi-weekly sports paper published in Accra and sometimes appears on Metro TV for Sports discussions.

An attempt to see the journalist at the Central Prison yielded no dividends as the GNA was told he could only be seen with authority from the police headquarters.

Most Nigerian journalists contacted to go to his aid declined and blamed his predicament on his flamboyant lifestyle. During investigations, it was revealed that Mr Wilcox had presented himself to his countrymen from Nigeria as a TV presenter.

It is however not known if the Nigerian journalist is holding a Ghanaian passport or one from his native country.