Personnel allegedly from the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) stormed the house of the Member of Parliament for the Assin South Constituency, Reverend John Ntim Fordjour, at Spintex yesterday, purportedly to arrest him.
The group, numbering about 20 and fully armed, reportedly arrived at his residence around 12:30 p.m. to carry out the arrest, but were prevented by high-ranking members of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) who got wind of the operation.
Reverend Ntim Fordjour has been in the news for the past two weeks following a press conference he addressed on behalf of the Minority in Parliament.
The press conference alleged that two Airmed aircraft, which landed at Kotoka International Airport (KIA) between March 21 and 24, were involved in money laundering and drug trafficking.
Some of the party bigwigs who showed up at the house to prevent the arrest included Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin; MP for Bantama, Francis Asenso-Boakye; NPP General Secretary, Justin Frimpong Kodua; NPP National Organiser, Henry Nana Boakye; and NPP National Director of Communications, Richard Ahiagba, among others.
At the time of filing this report, it was unclear whether the NIB personnel had succeeded in making the arrest.
Speaking to journalists outside Reverend Fordjour’s residence, Mr Afenyo-Markin said the Minority would resist any attempt to use national security apparatus to intimidate their members.
He said “Reverend cannot be made an example. Reverend is not a loner. He has not walked alone and he will not walk alone.”
Mr Afenyo-Markin explained that Rev. Fordjour had merely presented the AirMed aircraft issue to the public on behalf of the Defence Committee of Parliament, of which he is a member.
He emphasised that Rev. Fordjour should not be singled out for intimidation.
In a video circulating on social media, a visibly angry Henry Nana Boakye was heard expressing frustration, saying the NIB personnel would have to arrest all of the NPP members present at Fordjour’s house.
“How can you invade the house of a Member of Parliament like this? Nobody is afraid of them, and if they like, they should arrest all of us,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State in charge of Government Communication at the Presidency, Felix Ofosu Kwakye, clarified that the stand-off occurred due to Fordjour’s refusal to cooperate with the security agencies.
He stated, “NIB officials are currently at Ntim Fordjour’s residence. They have an arrest warrant, but he is refusing to cooperate. They have given him time to comply, and if he fails, they will take action.”
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
