A law lecturer at the University of Ghana, Professor Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua, has criticised the Minority in Parliament for what he described as an overly dramatic protest against the continued detention of Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The protest followed Wontumi’s arrest by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) on Tuesday, May 27.
Chairman Wontumi was initially detained by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the police before EOCO also held him over other allegations.
Although he was granted bail in the sum of GH¢50 million on Wednesday, May 28, with conditions including two verified sureties, his release has been delayed due to a pending High Court application seeking to review the bail terms. Despite meeting the bail conditions by May 30, the legal process has yet to conclude.
On Thursday, May 29, Minority MPs staged a walkout from Parliament. They later marched to the EOCO headquarters, where they staged a sit-down protest demanding Wontumi’s immediate release on self-recognisance bail, citing his public profile and low flight risk.
However, Professor Appiagyei-Atua, speaking on Channel One TV on Saturday, May 31, dismissed the protest as unnecessary and politically motivated.
“One would have expected that the NPP team would have followed the due process, and that is why I fault the steps they took—leaving Parliament to go and sit down on the floor at EOCO,” he said.
“I think it was needless, just to create some drama and attention, which in the end could have led to lawlessness. Indeed, some lawlessness occurred, considering that a journalist was assaulted. The whole thing was overdramatised,” he added.
He also expressed disappointment that some of the protesting MPs, many of who are lawyers, appeared to have ignored legal protocols in favour of public theatrics.
“Some of these MPs are lawyers, they know the rules, and I don’t know why this time they decided to choose this route, which creates the perception that they want to politicise the situation,” he remarked.
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