General Nunoo Mensah, Former National Security adviser
Former National Security Adviser Brigadier, General Nunoo Mensah says the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) remains a very important establishment to the security of the country and should therefore not be tagged as evil.
The BNI has come under heavy criticism following the arrest of Fadi Daboussi, the author of “59 Years to Nowhere” and an ardent supporter of opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo, over the weekend at the Kotoka International Airport upon arrival from a trip.
Fadi had alleged in his writings that President Mahama impregnated the daughter of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and also went further to question the president’s HIV status. But government said he was arrested for questioning the capacity and morality of President Mahama to lead Ghana. He has since been released.
Speaking on 3FM’s Sunrise morning show, the former Chief of Defence Staff questioned the direction the country would have headed if there were no national security agencies backing it with analogy from events in the Middle East. “Couple of years ago there were two gentlemen in the Middle East and I’m referring to Saddam Hussein and Gaddafi whom the world thought were evil so had to get rid of them”.
According to him, the conspiracy to get rid of Saddam Hussein and Gaddafi, hoping that the world will be free, has rather turned it into a much more dangerous place especially in that part of the world. “Having gotten rid of them that area of the world is in complete anarchy so the point I’m trying to make is that before you say something is wrong, you have to think of what would have happened if that thing wasn’t there.”
He explained, “The point I’m making is that before we talk about the BNI and say they are evil, just think about what would have happened if they were not there.
“If they do have the powers of arrest within the new law then what they did with the arrest of this gentleman and others they have arrested then I believe we should find out if it is legal or not before we condemn them, but if what they did was lawful then what is wrong with it,” he asked.
“If you go and say certain things which turn out not to be factual and you go ahead and say I apologise, you should know the harm has already been caused”.