Former President John Dramani Mahama and Presidential candidate for the National Democratic Congress NDC has strongly condemned the detention of NDC Parliamentary Candidate for Awutu Senya East, Phillis Naa Koryoo, calling it a move that will raise political tensions.
Mahama in a statement urged the Inspector General of Police and the Ghanaian government to recognize the importance of justice in maintaining peace and stability and called for Naa Koryoo’s immediate release.
There is no justification for the decision by the IGP George Dampare, on the orders of the National Security Advisor, Mr. Albert Kan Dapaah, to detain a Parliamentary Candidate for the Awutu Senya East Constituency in Police custody.
This action, taken on the instructions of the National Security Secretariat, will needlessly raise the political temperature in the country and spark avoidable tension. The Police Service and the IGP must not allow themselves to be used to hang the peace and stability of our nation months before crucial national elections.
In his words, “I call on the IGP, the Peace Council, the government, and the people of Ghana to recognize that justice is not just a moral imperative but a crucial prerequisite for maintaining peace and stability in the nation. We cannot allow the police service to be used to stifle opposition and intimidate innocent Ghanaians and political opponents in the run-up to the 2024 elections.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Candidate for Awutu Senya East, Phyllis Naa Koryoo Okunnor has been detained by the police over a pump-action gun found in her car last Sunday.
She is being held at the cantonment Police station assisting investigation.
The National Communications Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi commenting on the arrest in a facebook post described the parliamentary candidate’s detention as a move by the Police to intimidate and cower the NDC inti silence.
He claimed the weapon for which the Parliamentary candidate has been arrested is registered in her name, adding that “All the necessary registration documents have been submitted to the Police”
In Mr. John Mahama’s words, “Clearly, the intention to detain her after she had already been granted bail is an attempt to intimidate the NDC Parliamentary candidate in her quest to unseat the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Hawa Koomson, in the Awutu Senya East Constituency.
I urge the IGP to urgently reconsider his actions and release Naa Koryoo immediately for the sake of justice and the stability of our nation.”
Sammy Gyamfi, NDC’s NCO maintains that Naa Koryoo has done no wrong, hence she must be released.
In Sammy Gyamfi’s words “Unlike Hawa Koomson a Member of Parliament in Ghana who in the year 2020 actually fired a gun at a registration center, Naa Koryoo the arrested Parliamentary candidate has not fired any gun or weapon. Yet the NPP-controlled Police service is hellbent on detaining her. Information reaching me indicated that the Dampare-led police has detained her at the CID Headquarters since morning and are now transferring her to the Cantonments Police station for further detention.”
“It is high time the police fulfilled their duty to serve and protect all citizens, irrespective of their political affiliations.”
Source: www.citinewsroom.com , www.ghanaweb.com ,
