Ghana’s Newsfile to discuss nurse case and cocaine seizure

In Ghana, the Newsfile programme on JoyNews will examine on September 19 the case of senior nurse Salomey Aviti Baffo, the seizure of nearly 3.9 tonnes of suspected cocaine, fumigation spending during the COVID-19 period, and constitutional reform. As MyJoyOnline reports, the broadcast will be hosted by Samson Lardy Anyenini. It will run from 8:00 to 12:00 on Joy 99.7 FM, JoyNews and other platforms.

The nurse case and cocaine seizure

Forty-year-old senior nurse Salomey Aviti Baffo was arrested on September 13 at her home in Hansua near Techiman over an alleged connection to the Ghana Jollof TikTok account. She pleaded not guilty before the Adentan court to charges of abetment of a crime, namely the alleged publication and dissemination of false news under sections 20(1) and 208 of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960. The court denied her bail and remanded her for two weeks, setting the next hearing for September 30.

The prosecution alleges that Baffo acted as an intermediary for UK-based TikTok user Barbara Asantewaa Kodua, known as Ghana Jollof, and helped recruit others to distribute her videos. The court has not established these claims, including allegations that some videos contained statements capable of provoking violence. New Patriotic Party flagbearer Mahamudu Bawumia called for Baffo’s release, describing the circumstances of her arrest and detention as “very disturbing.”

The programme will also examine the September 10 seizure by French customs of nearly 3.9 tonnes of suspected cocaine at the port of Dunkirk. The shipment was found in a container of plastic waste that had departed from Ghana, and its value was estimated at about €225 million. A court in Kwabenya denied bail to six people involved in the case. Four of them are linked to the Ghana Revenue Authority and face charges related to customs scanning procedures at the port of Tema.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Fumigation spending and constitutional review

President John Dramani Mahama has ordered the creation of an inter-agency group that must prepare within two weeks a plan to strengthen efforts against drug trafficking across the country’s borders. Ten people, including four customs officers, are in custody as part of the investigation.

Newsfile will also discuss discrepancies in data on fumigation spending during the pandemic. A special audit by the Auditor-General recorded 96.3 million Ghanaian cedis, while documents from the ministries of education, local government and transport cited by journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni indicate at least 780 million cedis in 2020–2022. According to his investigation, Zoomlion Ghana Limited received about 775 million cedis from the identified amount.

Another topic will be the review of Ghana’s Constitution. The New Patriotic Party opposed extending presidential and parliamentary terms from four to five years and called for a consultative or constituent assembly. More than 100 civil society organisations, trade unions and professional associations also called for the procedure to be regulated by law, for clear timelines to be set, and for broader citizen participation to be ensured. The government rejected the NPP’s demand for a consultative assembly, saying that the review process has been ongoing for nearly two years.

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