The Progressive People’s Party (PPP) is demanding an apology from the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) for the manhandling of two of their youth leaders over the weekend.
[contextly_sidebar id=”tnVdB84q65t0a883r4BDZYJnUiE34ErC”]The party is also asking NACOB to properly train their officials to give “world class” instructions in undertaking their operations.
The National Youth Coordinator of the PPP, Divine Nkrumah and the party’s Volunteers Coordinator, Richard Armah were reportedly arrested and detained by officials of NACOB at the Kotoka International Airport.
The two were returning from Cape Town South Africa where they attended a youth exchange and development programme.
Nkrumah and Armah were detained for three hours before they were released.
Addressing a press conference in Accra, Chairman of the party, Nii Allotey Brew Hammond asked NACOB to use the right procedures when undertaking their duties.
He lamented over the embarrassing manner in which the party’s two officials were arrested and detained.
“We wish to call on NACOB and its agents to allow and follow lawful procedures when intending to conduct investigations if there is the need at all,” he said.
He stated that the PPP is worried about the development because the NACOB officials who carried out the arrest refused to reveal their identities as well as give further details for their actions.
“What worries us is that the officials who refused to reveal their identities were also unwilling to disclose their reasons for arresting the two young men and they only said that they were waiting for the orders of their superiors whose names they will also not disclose before releasing them,” he remarked.
Brew Hammond questioned why the two PPP officials were singled out of the many passengers who had arrived at the airport saying, “it is surprising to note that even though the two officers of the party were walking in the midst of other passengers, they were identified by the NACOB officers.”
The PPP chairman also expressed surprise at the demand of the party card of the Nkrumah and Armah before they were released from detention.
“When did party card become a travelling document in Ghana?” he asked.
Brew Hammond therefore charged the President to check and ensure NACOB officials do not abuse their power by manhandling innocent citizens.
“Words like; ‘we will show you’, ‘we have the power to detain you’ are evidence of abuse of state power and must be checked.”
By: Efua Idan Osam/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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