NIA finally suspends mass registration exercise

Following an interlocutory injunction application filed at an Accra High Court, the National Identification Authority (NIA) has suspended the mass registration exercise in the Eastern Region, GhanaWeb has gathered.

In an internal memo to the staff, the NIA said the suspension of the registration exercise takes effect from Saturday, March 21, 2020 until the application is heard by the court.

“All staff are required to report for work and render proper accounting of registration equipment, materials and consumables in their custody to the Senior Registration Officers (SROs) with immediate effect”, the memo reportedly stated.

An interlocutory injunction is a court order to compel or prevent a party from doing certain acts pending the final determination of the case.

It is an order made at an interim stage during the trial, and is usually issued to maintain the status quo until judgment can be made.

Background

The National Identification Authority was sued for disregarding the President’s ban on public gatherings, following the coronavirus outbreak in Ghana.

In a suit by two Ghanaians, Emmanuel Akumatey and Kevor Mark-Oliver, they argue the mass registration exercise in the Eastern Region, where they live, “has a strong tendency in aggravating the spread of the coronavirus.”

Feeling endangered by the exercise, they want the Accra High Court (Human Rights Division) to stop the exercise.

The Attorney-General is joined to the suit.

The plaintiffs are armed with the President’s directives, banning public gatherings after Ghana recorded the second case of coronavirus, March 14, 2020.

The ban issued March 15, excluded commercial activities in bars, restaurants and night clubs. But while churches and mosques affected by the ban find other ways to operate, the National Identification Authority has not flinched.