Why chase TikTokers while those poisoning our rivers go free? – Barker-Vormawor asks

Private legal practitioner Oliver Barker-Vormawor has criticised what he describes as the growing use of state security powers against social media commentators, arguing that authorities appear more concerned about TikTokers than threats to Ghana’s natural resources and public finances.

According to him, the state’s approach to alleged treason cases and the handling of social media personalities raises serious questions about the priorities of Ghana’s security institutions.

In a Facebook post shared on September 17, 2026, Barker-Vormawor said the situation raised concerns about the use of policing and national security powers against ordinary citizens.

“I will keep repeating this. A nation that pursues TikTokers with greater urgency than those poisoning its rivers or plundering its public resources reveals a distorted conception of security,” he stated.

According to him, the state risks becoming more focused on protecting political authority from criticism while paying insufficient attention to activities that cause direct harm to the public.

“It becomes exquisitely sensitive to affronts to authority and dangerously indifferent to injuries to the public,” he indicated.

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Barker-Vormawor also questioned the basis for the reported treason allegation, stressing that an accusation of such gravity should be supported by credible evidence and sound professional judgment.

He warned that national security should not become a justification for what he described as the excessive use of policing powers against social media commentators.

Barker-Vormawor said he had previously raised concerns about what he considers a heavy-handed approach towards social media personalities and urged state institutions to exercise greater restraint and professionalism.

“We play too much in this country. And too often, ordinary citizens pay for that level of institutional unseriousness,” he said.

His comments followed reports that a middle-aged nurse, who he said had never been to Accra, had allegedly been linked to a treason plot involving another TikToker known for criticising politicians associated with the government.

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