You harassed NDC MPs but protected NPP demonstrators – Lawyer slams police

Lamtiig Apanga, a private legal practitioner has accused the Ghana Police Service of double standards, after members of a pro-NPP group were allowed to demonstrate in the Volta Regional capital of Ho despite a directive warning them against such a move.

The group which protested against the re-appointment of Yao Archibald Letsa as regional minister defied a police order in carrying out their actions.

Speaking in an interview with GhanaWeb, lawyer Apanga slammed the police for providing security to the demonstrators instead of dispersing them.

Citing the case where the police went to court to secure an order to bar members of the NDC from embarking on a demonstration, Lawyer Apanga questioned if the law for dealing with NDC groups differ from that of the NPP.

He observed that while the police were hostile to NDC MPs who embarked on a walk to present a petition to the EC in last month, they were extremely lenient in the discharge of their security duties with regards to the pro NPP demonstrators.

“We’ve had several instances where Police told people not to demonstrate for various reasons and went ahead to obtain ex parte injunction to restrain them from demostrating. What happened to all these mechanisms that the police could have used to stop them? Interestingly the police have gone to court on several occasions to obtain injunction to stop NDC groups from demonstrating.

We were here when they went to court to prevent the NDC from demonstrating. We all saw the way they handled NDC MPs who embarked on a walk to present a petition to the EC. The manner in which the MPs handled by the police. So how then do the police allow pro-NPP group to be on the streets of Ho, particularly in this Covid” he told GhanaWeb.

He further stated that with the cases of coronavirus surging in the last few weeks, the police should have used every legal means to prevent the protestors from taking over the streets of Ho.

“The police, knowing very well that Covid-19 is on the rise did not do much to stop them from undertaking their demonstration and that they even went ahead to provide security is a matter of great concern. The fact that the police did not attempt to disperse them is a matter of concern. The police issued a press statement informing the organisers that they can't demonstrate but how many times have the police issued a press release with respect to demonstrations. They usually will write to the organisers, to inform them that in accordance with the Public Order Act and other compelling reasons that they cannot embark on the demonstration”, he said.