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The minority caucus in Parliament has expressed strong displeasure over the arrest and continued detention of the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi.
According to the MPs, the situation constitutes a national disgrace, accusing the government of politically motivated witch-hunting and intimidation through state security agencies.
Addressing the media during a protest at the headquarters of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) on Thursday, 29 May, Minority Chief Whip Frank Annoh-Dompreh vowed to resist what he described as government intimidation.
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ALSO READ: NPP MPs abandon Parliament, storm EOCO head office to demand Chairman Wontumi’s release
He stated:
We are not here to obstruct investigations. But we are here because a line has been crossed — a dangerous, unacceptable line that signals the state’s power can now be used to humiliate, traumatise, and silence citizens under the pretext of justice. This was not an arrest; it was a clear ambush.
He continued:
He was seized like a fugitive, treated like a criminal, and thrown into detention without any dignity or respect to the rights owed to every citizen, especially one who had not resisted the law. And what was the result? He collapsed. He was hospitalised. His health broke under the sheer weight of EOCO’s cruelty.
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The Minority Chief Whip further declared:
We cannot and we will not stand by. We will not allow EOCO, the NIB, the police, or any state agency to be weaponised for political intimidation.
He continued:
We will not permit our democracy to be defiled by power-drunk actors who believe they are above the law. And we will not allow the Ghanaian people to be deceived into thinking this is ordinary justice at work.
Chairman Wontumi was arrested on Tuesday, 27 May, by EOCO as part of ongoing investigations, the details of which have yet to be disclosed. He has remained in custody since, despite reportedly falling ill during interrogation on the same day.
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Although he has been granted bail to the sum of GH¢50 million, with two sureties — both to be justified — he has yet to meet the conditions required for his release.
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Meanwhile, there is a heavy security presence at EOCO’s head office, with a growing number of NPP MPs and supporters besieging the premises in protest.