PThe Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo was yesterday arrested by the Police following an arrest warrant from the court.
He was picked up by officials of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service around 2:00p.m to assist the police in an alleged arson and kidnapping investigations.
The Director-General of the Police Public Affairs, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) David Senanu disclosed these to the Ghanaian Times in Accra yesterday but did not give further details
As of the time of going to press, the National Chairman who was in the company of his lawyers was being questioned by investigators at the CID.
When the Ghanaian Times got to the CID headquarters about 5:00p.m there were armed personnel from the Formed Police Unit with the police water cannons stationed at all the entry and exit points to prevent people from entering the premises.
Some NDC sympathisers, such as Mr Sylvester Mensah, Mr Ade Coker and Joshua Akamba were spotted at the CID headquarters.
The Ghanaian Times reported in its Friday, May 10, issue that Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo declined to honour an invitation by the CID to assist in investigations of alleged kidnappings and fire outbreaks in the country.
In a letter addressed to the CID boss, Commissioner of Police (COP) Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah through his lawyers, Mr Ampofo stated that the invitation was an attempt to “pass the buck” and shift the blame over the increasing inability of the security agencies, including her outfit, to manage and control the failures of security and the governance structures of the country as a whole.
The letter was presented on his behalf at the CID headquarters by Mr Ofosu Ampofo’s legal team made up of Mr Tony Lithur, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong and Abraham Amaliba.
It was received by the Deputy Director-General of the CID, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) George Tweneboah.
The letter sighted by the Ghanaian Times and signed by Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine of the Ayine and Felli law firm; stated in part that “having reviewed your letter against the background of the ongoing prosecution of our client, we are unable to resist the conclusions that your invitation and so called investigations into kidnapping, arson and other crimes is collateral to the ongoing criminal trial and that its purpose partly prejudice our client’s defence.
It stated that their client (Ofosu Ampofo) viewed the letter of invitation as reflective of an undeniable pattern of political harassment and intimidation which violates his fundamental human rights, “particularly his constitutional rights to personal dignity and political association that is devoid of intimidation and harassment.”
“On our part, while we appreciate that every citizen has a constitutional duty to assist law enforcement agencies in the discharge of their mandate, our considered view is that the current invitation constitutes a gross abuse of the investigative and prosecutorial powers of the police as a public institution,” the letter stated.
The letter further indicated that “they take the respectful view that since their client was not under arrest for the alleged offences, he was legally entitled to decline the invitation, and have therefore advised him accordingly.”
At the time of going to press party supporters were said to be massing up at the police headquarters in solidarity of their national chairman.
Meanwhile the General Secretary of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia in a statement has called on supporters to remain and await information on any course of action the party deems fit in the circumstance.
He said a full complement of the party’s legal team was in touch with the police and was closely monitoring the situation adding that “a team of senior party officials is also currently on standby at the police headquarters to attend to the situation.”
BY ANITA NYARKO-YIRENKYI
