Right On Point

The president of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) spoke the minds of many Ghanaians when he took exception to the undue abuse of state powers at the hands of some security personnel, including the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).

Nene Amegatcher was speaking during the 33^rd anniversary of the murder of the three high court judges and an army officer during the heady days of the so-called revolution in the country.

We cannot agree more with the senior lawyer whose observation should be a wakeup call for those who direct the operations of our security agencies to work towards changing the psyche of their personnel.

Gone are the days of the Preventive Detention Act (PDA) when people could be arrested and detained indefinitely without court order in that direction.

The metamorphosis of the Special Branch of the Ghana Police Service to the BNI came with a baggage which is still haunting the operations of the security agency.

Being an agency by and large protecting the interests of the regime's personnel, it has exhibited the tendency to go overboard in its bid to win the favours of its bosses wielding political power. The human rights of the individuals in the BNI custody are not much of concern to personnel of this security agency.

Many lawyers have worrying stories to tell about their experiences when they sought contact with their clients in the custody of the BNI. It is more serious when such persons are being held at the instance of politicians holding important positions in government.

Nene Amegatcher's observations were auspicious at a time when the sordid abduction of three high court judges and a retired army major was being commemorated.

Thirty-three years since that dark chapter was added to our history, we do not appear to have learnt any lessons otherwise the BNI personnel would not be parading themselves with that false aura of invincibility and omnipotence.

A few months ago a man suspected to have manipulated the outcome of students' polls at the University of Ghana was whisked away from his home as his spouse watched helplessly. She went to the BNI dungeons but was denied access to him as was his lawyer.

He was detained at the place for as long as someone wanted him to be there; and that is the source of our worry.

We should have long departed from this portal with over five decades of nationhood on our sleeves: politicians should learn to play the game decently and devoid of crudeness.

The excessive show of power on people you want to forcefully appreciate the authority you wield is nothing but sadism and a misunderstanding of the role of the BNI.

The BNI handling criminal cases which should be within the purview of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service is something we should take another look at.