Government using Police to harass Xavier-Sosu – Amaliba

Communications and Legal Team Member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Abraham Amalibah has accused the ruling government of employing the Police Service to pester Madina Member of Parliament (MP), Francis-Xavier Sosu.

He believes members of the government are seeking to contravene parliamentary standings and processes, just because he belongs to the opposition NDC.

“Gov’t officials are using the Police to harass Francis Xavier-Sosu, undermine the Speaker of Parliament and also undermine the institution of Parliament,” he told Don Kwabena Prah on Happy98.9FM’s Epa Hoa Daben political talk show.

Abraham Amalibah expressed his surprise at the Police saying they will arrest the MP on the grounds of disrespect. “I want to know under which section of the criminal offenses act that someone is arrested for showing disrespect to the Police. You can only arrest someone for committing a main offense and not for disrespect.”

The legal mind noted that because an MP cannot be arrested during the execution of Parliamentary duties, the former Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye made provisions for them (MPs) to be questioned in Parliament. He believes the Police could have fallen on this provision rather than publicly declare his arrest.

“But what I am seeing now is that the government is using the Police against Sosu. They’re using the Police against him because he is an opposition MP and so is the Speaker of Parliament,” he reiterated.

Earlier reports indicate that personnel from the Ghana Police Service stormed the church premises of Madina lawmaker, Francis-Xavier Kojo Sosu, to arrest him over his protest on Monday, October 25.

Sosu, a lawyer and Member of Parliament for Madina, led the youth to protest deplorable roads in his constituency.

During the demonstration on Monday, the police attempted to arrest the lawmaker for what they described as an unlawful protest. The police were, however, resisted by the youth while the MP fled from the scene.

The Ghana Police Service has, however, denied any claims that personnel were sent to arrest the MP in church.