Investigations, arrests aimed at silencing opposition MPs – Ahmed Shaib

Member of Parliament for Weija-Gbawe, Jerry Ahmed Shaib, has accused the government of using investigations and arrests involving opposition MPs to intimidate them and discourage them from speaking openly in Parliament.

Speaking in an interview with **JoyNews **on the sidelines of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Delegates Conference in Kumasi, Mr Shaibu was asked about the continued detention and prosecution of the Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah.

Parliament had earlier issued a statement condemning what it described as the continued detention of the MP in the police custody of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).

Mr Awuah is facing three charges, including money laundering, and was appearing before the courts at the time of the interview.

Mr Shaib rejected suggestions that the Minority in Parliament was being weakened by the development, arguing that what he described as the government’s pattern of inviting, questioning or detaining opposition MPs had been ongoing for much longer.

“It’s not been past six months. It’s actually close to 20 months, and this has been the style,” he said.

According to him, a large number of NPP MPs have been invited by law enforcement agencies since the government came to power.

“Almost 75 to 80% of members of parliament have either they’ve been invited to EOCO or BNI or the Ghana Police Service here,” he claimed.

Mr Shaibu said he believed the investigations were aimed at discouraging MPs from speaking strongly against the government.

“This is to cow us from talking. This is to ensure that you will not…”

He said that the situation could affect the ability of MPs to perform their parliamentary duties, particularly when those facing investigations are among those who raise critical issues on the floor of Parliament.

Mr Shaibu cited the case of Mr Awuah, who he said had been dealing with the Salomey Awuti matter before his arrest.

“Baffour was dealing with the Salomey Awuti matter, wasn’t he? So who is now the counsel to go and be dealing with the issues of Salomey Awuti?” he asked.

He said MPs who make submissions that are critical of the government could subsequently find themselves being invited for questioning or facing restrictions.

“That is why when you talk on the floor, you make some submissions, and they are actually the ones that are critical of government. The next moment you see that you have been picked or you’ve been invited or you’ve been asked that you should come here or you cannot travel, and that’s the modus operandi,” he said.

“This is what is happening.”

Mr Shaibu said that Ghana was operating under a democratic system and said he believed the developments involving MPs were becoming excessive.

“Meanwhile, we are in a democracy. This is all that is happening. It’s becoming one too many,” he said.

He also expressed uncertainty about reports concerning correspondence between Parliament and the relevant authorities over Mr Awuah’s detention, saying he had not personally verified the information.

He criticised what he considered to be a slow response to the situation, particularly because the person involved was a sitting MP.

“I think that sometimes we are so late in acting. This is a member of Parliament,” he said.

“Nobody is saying that a member of Parliament should not be dealt with when there are issues,” he said.

But he questioned the decision to keep an MP in custody for an extended period when, according to him, the individual had voluntarily presented himself to the investigating authorities.

“But when especially the member of Parliament voluntarily submits himself to the institution that is expected to be investigating him, and this is a member of Parliament, you keep him over days,” he said.

He also questioned what he saw as inconsistencies in the granting of bail in other cases.

“You are dealing with people. Even people who have done cocaine issues have been granted bail, and they are walking,” Mr Shaibu said.

The MP was then asked whether the alleged scale of investigations involving members of his side of the House had created fear among MPs and made them reluctant to speak on the floor of Parliament.

Mr Shaibu acknowledged the risks involved in politics but said some politicians were prepared to make sacrifices.

Responding to the question, he referred to a well-known statement attributed to President John Mahama, saying:

“Well, some of us, at this point, if the President once said he was a dead goat, some of us may have told our families that sometimes you need to understand the sacrifices of politics, especially when NDC is in power.”

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