The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has criticized the police’s arrest and detention of its Bono Regional Chairman, Kwame Baffoe, also known as Abronye, for allegedly disrespecting Inspector General of Police (IGP), COP Christian Tetteh Yohunu.
The NPP called the incident “the latest installment of a growing pattern of politically motivated intimidation and harassment” directed at its members by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, in a statement signed by the party’s general secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong.
“It is rather unfortunate that eight months into the administration of H.E. John Dramani Mahama, the government appears to have completely lost focus,” the statement read.
“Instead of prioritizing security challenges in places like Bawku, Nkwanta, and Gbeniyiri, where clashes have claimed over 32 lives and displaced more than 50,000 Ghanaians, state security is being weaponised to silence dissenting voices.”
The NPP accused the government of reintroducing “the dreaded culture of silence” that the country abandoned following the repeal of the Criminal and Seditious Libel Law in 2001. The party emphasized that under current rules, individuals who feel defamed, including the IGP, should seek civil remedies through defamation claims rather than criminal punishment.
“The law, they say, is the law, and we expect the IGP to know better. You don’t weaponise and abuse your office to settle personal scores with the very people you are supposed to protect. Criminalising speech has no place in a democracy,” the statement added.
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com/Joseph Asare
