Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com
By William Yaw Owusu
Thursday December 13, 2012.
The era of unlawful arrests and detentions is
rearing its ugly head again as security agencies, particularly the Bureau of
National Investigations (BNI), embarks on arrests of New Patriotic Party (NPP)
supporters.
A case in point is the unlawful arrest and
detention of a 34-year-old Ghanaian domiciled in the US who unknowingly chanced
on the alleged thumb-printing of ballots by some security agents for President John
Mahama in Accra last Saturday when the second phase of the December 7 general
elections were going on.
Narrating his ordeal to DAILY GUIDE, the victim
whose name has been withheld for security reasons, said he traveled from
Koforidua to Accra to meet a friend who had given him conflicting directions
and therefore lost his way.
“Upon reaching the Shell Petrol Station near the
Gulf House on the George Bush Motorway, I turned towards a rough road behind
the station and as I climbed the hill, I entered a space where there are summer
huts and I saw fully armed security men including soldiers, police and plain-clothed
men.
“I saw them thumb-printing ballot papers for
President Mahama and they quickly rushed on me and the occupant in the front
seat and handcuffed us without any explanation and started searching our car,”
he claimed.
He said the security agents did not even allow
them to explain why they were there but told them that they (victims) were trespassing
and the agents were going to deal with them.
After ransacking the car and finding nothing
incriminating, the marauding officers saw NPP’s sticker for free SHS on the
dashboard and quickly bundled them into a waiting patrol vehicle and drove them
to the BNI headquarters near the Ghana Immigration Service.
“Immediately we entered a hall, they asked us to undress
and wear their attires meant for detainees and they would not allow us to even
reach our family members. They seized our phones, car and everything we had for
no reason.”
“They did not give us food or medicine for
Saturday and on Sunday they sent us to the BNI office near the 37 Military
Hospital for interrogation after which they took us back to the BNI
headquarters.”
He said he spent another night in cell until
Monday when he was lucky to be given the chance to make a phone call to a
relative to bail him.
“They did not charge me. They did not arrest me
with any offence but detained me and they say they respect human rights.”
He said at the BNI offices, there are a lot of
people detained there without charge and they are all crying for justice.
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