Officials of Parliament to accompany Collins Dauda to Police

Officials from Parliament would today (Tuesday) accompany Mr Collins Dauda, MP for Asutifi South to the Police Headquarters in Accra to meet the Police CID Boss, Speaker of Parliament, Prof Aaron Michael Oquaye, has announced.

The Speaker said Mr Dauda would not meet any official with a rank lower than that, saying “after all monkeys play by sizes.”

The Speaker was reacting to an invitation by the Police to the lawmaker, and condemned the violent raid visited on his residence.

Mr Dauda's home was raided on Tuesday dawn by armed policemen in his constituency, in the Brong Ahafo Region, an act which the Speaker on Tuesday condemned in the House as proceedings began.

"We want the security agencies to be mindful, in fact, the police should not invade the premises of a member or appear to be doing so in a manner that will raise difficulties for us. Members of Parliament are not above the law but that the privileges given to us by the constitution that we have all agreed to be ruled by, should at all material times, be respected and protected,” Prof Oquaye said.

He said in future, the Leadership of the House, the Speaker of the House, should be informed of all such needs so that it would be done with the appropriate decency,” adding that, “we will not be seen to be shielding any wrong doing and at the same time keeping to the honour that should be given to this institution.”

Prof Oquaye said any Member of Parliament wanted by the Police would be in good company of parliamentary leadership and the commissioner in charge of investigations at the Ghana Police, and that should be seen to be cooperating enough.

“It, therefore, means that essentially what we asking for is not to be taken by surprise or not to be treated in a manner that will not be consistent with the dignity that an honourable of Member of Parliament should be attended to,” Prof Oquaye said.

He called on the Police to respect MPs’ privileges and the law by following due process in their investigations involving legislators.