BNI raids NPP cars

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has called for an end to the backward political behavior of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government, and appealed to President John Evans Atta Mills to make good his pledge of non-harassment of political opponents.

It said the seizure of its eight Tata pickup vehicles in the Ashanti region amounts to theft, stressing that the government is behind it.

The party further demanded an immediate end to what it called 'the ugly culture of political gangsterism, undue victimization, and intimidation being perpetrated by the NDC government, using state agencies'.

A strongly-worded statement, signed yesterday by Nana Ohene Ntow, General Secretary of the party, also frowned at the Ashanti Regional Police Command for virtually supervising a clear political vendetta in the region, saying, the unwarranted attacks and provocation must cease.

The statement follows reports that the Amansie West District Police Commander had led a group of men, suspected to be from the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), to tow away eight NPP cars, which were in the care of the MP for Kwadaso Constituency, Hon. Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto, and demanded that they are returned without delay.

“The national leadership of the New Patriotic Party has learned with utter shock and indignation, reports that the Ashanti Regional Police Command has organized and supervised the seizure of eight of the party's vehicles in the Ashanti Region.

We hereby call on the police that supervised the illegal seizure of the said vehicles to ensure that they are immediately returned,” the statement noted.

Describing the action as totally preposterous, the statement explained that the NPP's vehicles, which were picked under police supervision, with the suspicion that they were government cars, were officially kept in the hands of the MP, for services and inventory purposes.

“The NPP views this action by the police and security agencies as a violation of our right to function as a political party without intimidation. We further see this action as part of the orchestrated harassment and unwarranted attacks by agents of the NDC government on political opponents, particularly the NPP”.

Nana Ohene Ntow further told the media that the police were physically involved in driving the pickups away, and charged the Ashanti Regional Police Commander to tell the whole world where the vehicles have been sent to.

“The NPP considers this act as outrageous attack of the party's independence and freedom. We are not sure who sent them, but we have firm and credible information that the Regional Police Command in Kumasi knows about the activity,” he told Joy FM.

It would be recalled that the first 100 days of the Mills Administration was characterized by intimidation and harassment of perceived political opponents.

Just a day after the NDC assumed office on January 8, the now Director of Protocol at the Presidency, Mr. Victor Smith raided the Castle (seat of government) with soldiers and seized the keys to vehicles that had been parked there.

Whilst Mr. Smith was busily seizing keys to vehicles at the Castle, operatives of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) were having a field day, brutalising supporters of NPP at the Konkomba market in Accra.

On January 12, certain NDC hoodlums, backed by security agents, seized any car on the streets of Accra that had the semblance of a state car, some of the victims being Chief Kufuor, ex-president Kufuor's son, Samuel Obiri, the 2008 NPP campaign Director of Operations and Mr. Benjamin Debrah, Managing Director (MD) of Barclays Bank.

The car-seizing spree was extended on February 18, to Nana Akufo Addo's Land Cruiser V 8 series with registration number GE 4416 Z.

On February 24, the harassment operation was further stretched to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Nana Addo's running mate and former Deputy Governor at the Bank of Ghana, when his office privileges were withdrawn for no reason.

As if all these were not enough, on March 17, National Security operatives, under the instructions of Col (Rtd) Gbevlo-Lartey, stormed ex-President Kufuor's office.

The former Vice President, Aliu Mahama, became the next victim of the car snatching syndicate when his cars were hunted on March 22.

On March 24, Col (rtd) Gbevlo Lartey again declared to flush out ex-President Kufuor from the Osu office.

Another car belonging to Nana Addo was again seized by operatives of the government on April 1, whereas ex-President Kufuor's cars were grabbed by the same operatives on April 6.

All these happened within the first 100 days of the new administration, but President Mills and the NDC say the period had been very successful and democratic.

By Bennett Akuaku