Togoland-ICC petition: Oppong Nkrumah laughs off attempts, debunks suggestions

Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has rubbished reports that persons claiming to seek secession from Ghana have a case before the International Criminal Court or the UN.

There were reports that members of Western Togoland separatists have made attempts to present their demands at the International Criminal Court by hiring the services of a Togolese government lawyer.

But responding to the development, the spokesperson of the Akufo-Addo government explained that their attempt was an exercise in futility because the sovereignty and unity of Ghana is a concluded matter.

He furthered that there is currently no such case at the United Nations or the ICC.

On Tuesday, September 29, 2020, Togolese media Focus Info reported that Association of Civil and Professional lawyers’ (SCP) Martial Akakpo had agreed to represent the secessionist group; a development which GhanaWeb’s checks revealed to be true after reaching out to him.

Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, who was speaking on GhanaWeb’s Election Desk in an exclusive interview laughed off the suggestions that the group were seeking their independence at the United Nations and advocated that the public disregard same.

“...the ICC is the International Criminal Court, there’s no case there, there’s no case before the United Nations. So if somebody claims that he is a Togolese lawyer who has been hired by these persons to represent them; Where? In a court in Togo? Or in Ghana?” He quizzed.

“There is a lot of false propaganda… there are also a lot of persons who purport to be security capos who also repeat some of these rumours…” the Information Minister added.

He intimated that there was the need for well-meaning Ghanaians to educate the public on patriotism and not fuel false rumours about the activities of the Western Togoland secessionists.

He stressed that the history about the 1956 plebiscite should be well communicated to clear up any confusions by the public.



In a related development, the renowned Togolese government lawyer hired by the Volta secessionist groups has declined to divulge any further information about his level of engagement in the processes to seek freedom for the Western Togoland secessionists.

When GhanaWeb reached out to him to provide more details on their pending development, he responded in the negative noting that, “at this time we have no comment.”