The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has criticised the recent arrest of some of its members, raising concerns about what it describes as selective enforcement of the law and growing political bias within state institutions.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, April 15, the party’s General Secretary, Justin Frimpong Kodua addressed the arrest of several party figures, including Kwame Baffoe, known as Abronye DC and the Sunyani East constituency communications officer.
Mr Kodua said Ghana must remain committed to democratic principles and the rule of law.
“We have all agreed that as a country, we don’t want to live under territorial rule, but under the constitutional rule and rule of law,” he stated, adding that the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) “must respect our constitution.”
He accused the Ghana Police Service, under the leadership of the Inspector-General of Police, Christian Tetteh Yohuno, of targeting government critics. According to him, the police have created a system that monitors dissent online.
“It is sad that the IGP… has created an office whose duty is just to be combing around social media to identify people who criticise the government,” Mr Kodua said.
He further alleged that arrests are often carried out at odd hours without proper procedures being followed.
“In midnight, in the early hours, we go and arrest these people,” he claimed, adding that in many cases, suspects are not promptly informed of the reasons for their arrest as required by law.
Mr Kodua also accused the police of ignoring conducts by members of the governing party similar to those for which the opposition party members are arrested.
“We have people in NDC who on every day, attack personalities in NPP… but the IGP doesn’t see those people. The only people that he sees are those who criticise the government,” he said.
Describing the situation as troubling, he added, “It’s a shame for us as a country, and it’s a shame to his office as IGP of this republic.”
The NPP General Secretary went on to criticise sections of the judiciary, accusing some judges of failing to uphold fairness.
“Some judges have turned themselves into remand judges. The only thing that they do is to remand people… who criticise this government,” he said.
He said that judges, as custodians of justice, must act independently and protect citizens’ rights.
“We don’t need judges who think that their duty is only to be remanding opponents of the government,” Mr Kodua stated, urging the judiciary to “protect that institution called justice… the protector of the vulnerable in the society.”
He said the party aimed to inform the public about what it believes is happening in the country.
“We have come… to let the good people of Ghana know what the NDC is doing and let them understand that if they know the reality on the ground, they will start behaving,” he said.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com