Soldiers in custody over coup plot – Oppong Nkrumah

Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has disclosed that some military personnel including an officer are in custody over the alleged attempted coup plot on Ghana’s presidency.

According to him, charges will be put against the suspects in the court of law in the coming days.

“There are military persons including an officer who are in custody and being interrogated in connection with this incident,” the Information minister told sit-in host of Morning Starr Lantam Papanko on Tuesday. That adds to the three others that were earlier announced in the government statement on the matter.

“This is not a matter that we can just trivialise or discuss on Facebook and WhatsApp platforms, we need to commend our security agencies. The group have put in place measures to procure instruments to execute their plans and have even started testing some of the instruments and that was why the Security Agencies had to step in immediately. From the brief given by the security agencies they have been monitoring the activities of a group of persons who had plans of overthrowing the government for about 15 months now”.

Government on Monday announced a planned attack on the jubilee House had been detected and foiled by a combined team of CID and BNI operatives.

The planned attack was intended to destabilise the country, government said in a statement.

The said operation, according to a statement from the Information ministry, took place on Thursday, September 19, 2019.

The statement said three people including a gun manufacturer have been arrested in connection with the operation.

Below are details of a statement from the Information Ministry

On Friday, September 20, 2019, a joint security operation of personnel drawn from Defence Intelligence, CID and Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), conducted a successful operation which led to the arrest of three persons and the retrieval of several arms, explosive devices and ammunition from locations in Accra and Bawaleshie near Dodowa.

The joint operation was to neutralize an elaborate plot targeted at the Presidency, and with the ultimate aim of destabilizing the country.

The arrest and seizure come after fifteen (15) months of surveillance and gathering of evidence on the activities of the prime suspects and others.

The persons arrested are Dr. Frederick Yao Mac-Palm and his two accomplices – Mr. Ezor Kafui (a local weapon manufacturer) and Mr. Bright Allan Debrah Ofosu (aka BB or ADC).

The following items were retrieved as part of the operation: a. Citadel Hospital (Alajo, Accra).

5 x locally manufactured pistols with magazines fitted on.

1 x foreign pistol (Reg. No. PX154006) with 2 X magazines.

3 x locally manufactured pistol barrels.

3 x smoke grenades.· 22 x Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

9 x 7.62mm NATO AK47 rounds.

2 x AK47 magazines.· 1 x long Knife.

The outlined plan for the operation presented by some soldiers at one of their meetings at Next-Door Resort. 7 x mobile phones.

2 x IPADs.

2 x decoders.

1 x modem.

3 x tablets.

1 x Ghanaian passport.

2 x pen-drives.

1 x voice recorder.

1 x USB connector.

Machines and materials for manufacturing weapons and IEDs. b. Bawaleshie near Dodowa 63 x 9mm NATO rounds.

5. Surveillance on the activities of the persons involved commenced in June 2018, when Dr. Mac-Palm and Bright Allan Debrah Ofosu (“BB” or “ADC”), started organizing a series of meetings at the Next-Door Beach Resort, in Teshie, and other locations in Accra, in furtherance of their objectives.

etween June and August 2018, BB, acting for and on behalf of Dr. MacPalm, contacted a number of serving military personnel, and talked them into hatching and executing a plot to obtain weapons, take over key installations, and secure funding for the purpose of taking over the reins of government. These meetings were closely monitored.

In August 2018, Dr. Mac-Palm and two others, Kennedy Amoah and Dr. Albert Sam (Based in the USA) formed a group called “Take Action Ghana” (TAG), under the guise of mobilizing the youth for nation building, education, health, and providing shelter to the needy. Evidence available shows the intent was to build a support base of youth and radicalize them against the political authority in Ghana.

In furtherance of this scheme, Dr Mac-Palm contracted one Mr. Ezor from Alavanyo to produce locally made weapons and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) for the operation. In July 2019, Mr. Ezor set up a workshop in a container, originally used as an X-Ray laboratory, at the premises of Citadel Hospital, and started producing the weapons and IEDs in-house.

On 10th September 2019, Dr. Mac-Palm and Mr. Ezor procured from the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, some essential chemicals to be mixed with gun powder, stone chippings, surgical needles and powdered pepper for their operations. He also contracted a worker at the Base Workshop in Burma Camp to supply 10 AK 47 riffles. He made an advance payment of GH¢7,000.00.

On Thursday, 19th September 2019, at about 2300 hours, still under surveillance, Dr. Mac-Palm, Mr. Ezor, and one soldier went to an area close to the Laboma Beach to test fire some of the locally manufactured weapons.

On the following day, 20th September 2019, between 0915 and 1755 hours, a team of security personnel undertook the operation which led to the arrest of Dr. Mac-Palm and his accomplices, and the subsequent retrieval of the items listed above.

The IEDs and all the exhibits are currently in the custody of the BNI, whilst investigations are being carried out for further action. Meanwhile, the suspects are undergoing interrogation.

State security agencies assure the general public that they remain vigilant, and will work to safeguard national security and public safety. The public is encouraged to remain calm and advised to provide information on any suspicious persons or activities to the police for necessary action.

The Government of Ghana will also continue with efforts to provide the necessary logistics and motivation to the security agencies for intelligence gathering, capacity building and other operations, to protect the country from terrorism, subversive activities, and other violent crimes.