Treason allegations against Techiman nurse must be backed by evidence – Barker-Vormawor

Social activist and legal practitioner Oliver Barker-Vormawor has raised concerns over reports linking a 40-year-old nurse in Techiman to an alleged treason plot involving the anonymous TikTok commentator known as “Ghana Jollof”.

His comments follow the reported midnight arrest of Salomey Awiti Baffoe, a senior nursing officer at the Abrafi Women and Children’s Hospital in Techiman.

Baffoe was reportedly taken from her home at Hansua, near Techiman, around midnight on Sunday, September 13, by three people who identified themselves as National Security operatives, according to her family.

The family has insisted that she is not the person behind the TikTok account, which has been critical of President John Dramani Mahama and First Lady Lordina Mahama.

The reported arrest has also raised questions because the Bono East Regional Police Command and regional National Security operatives initially said they had no knowledge of her arrest or whereabouts.

Reacting to this, Barker-Vormawor said the said treason charges, if confirmed, would require credible evidence and careful professional judgment by the security agencies involved.

“An accusation of such gravity demands a corresponding seriousness of evidence and professional judgment. The state cannot create public alarm and fail to show proof of it," he wrote in a social media post on Thursday, September 17.

Barker-Vormawor further questioned the use of national security powers in dealing with social media commentators and said responsibility should follow the chain of decision-making if the allegations against the nurse are found to have no credible evidential basis.

“The language of national security cannot become an intellectual refuge for professional incompetence. Those entrusted with coercive power must possess the judgment to distinguish an actual threat from something that merely offends their political sensibilities," he stated.

He further warned against what he described as the “liberal abuse” of policing powers and the heavy-handed treatment of social media commentators.

Barker-Vormawor also compared the reported pursuit of online critics with the government's response to other security and environmental concerns, arguing that state resources should be directed towards threats that cause demonstrable harm to the public.