OccupyGhana member Sydney Casely-Hayford says the National Democratic Congress is being lawless with its opposition to the Criminal Investigations Department’s (CID) invitation of its Chairman, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo.
Speaking on The Big Issue he said: “the stand that the NDC has taken is lawless and crude and as far as I am concerned, this should have no place in the politics of our country.”
“So if Ofosu Ampofo decides to listen to his [NDC] family and not attend the invitation from the CID, it is entirely up to him. If it turns out to be a legal matter and the government has a case, then they have to face the rigours of the law,” Mr. Casely Hayford added.
Mr. Ofosu Ampofo was invited in connection with recent kidnapping and fire incidents.
The Council of Elders of the NDC accused the government of using the country’s police service to intimidate the party’s National Chairman.
Former President John Mahama also said the CID was setting a bad precedent with ‘useless’ allegations against Mr. Ofosu Ampofo.
Also on the show, a lawyer, Nii Kpakpo Samoah Addo, said the CID was free to charge Mr. Ampofo with more crimes if it saw it fit.
But it shouldn’t be abusing its powers of investigation and arrest, he added.
The NDC Chair has already been charged with conspiracy to cause harm and assault against a public officer.
He was charged alongside a deputy National Communication Director of the NDC Kweku Boahen.
“If you have evidence that he is the one who is involved in these things, amend your charge sheet and add other charges to it… The power of arrest and the power to investigate comes with responsibility. You cannot be inviting [him] day in and day out.”
Mr. Ofosu Ampofo’s troubles started after he was heard on tape suggesting that plans were in place for acts that would cause fear and panic in the society.
He also allegedly endorsed verbal assaults on the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, among others on the tape.