Judge tells Directors of Security Agencies to adhere to Court Orders

Accra, Jan. 18, GNA - An Accra Fast Track High Court on Tuesday warned Directors of Security Agencies to adhere to Court orders so as not to fall foul of them.

It further asked Counsel of Security Agencies to advise their Directors on issues pertaining to the Law.

The Court presided over by Mr Justice Yaw Appau gave the warning when the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) apologised to it for defying its orders on the deportation of a Togolese national, Julien Ayayi to Monrovia, Liberia.

Ayayi, holder of Liberian passport, was said to be a security threat to the State.

According to Mr Justice Appau the Law Courts were established to implement the Law and Directors of Security Agencies must confer with the courts.

Discharging the order and accepting the apology, the Court noted that the apology had prevented it from knowing the facts contained in the affidavit of the Applicant.

The Judge said he had also read the deportation order, which stated that Ayayi was a security threat.

He said Ajayi was a member of the Sub-Region and so if he even travelled through an unapproved route into the country, the Court should have ascertained that to give its decision.

"I think the way you treated this Court was not fair," Justice Appau said.

Mr Kwame Takyi, Counsel for GIS, also apologised to the Mr Charles Hayibor, Counsel for Ayayi.

Mr Takyi said: "My Lord I was reliably informed that Ayayi was deported last Thursday after obtaining a deportation order on January 11 and I would like on behalf of the Director of GIS to apologise to this honourable Court for that.

"In fact, Ayayi was handed over to us after BNI disclosed that Ayayi did not have documents pertaining to his stay in Ghana."

The Court on January 13 ordered a writ of Habeas Corpus to be issued against Directors of GIS and the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) to produce Ayayi in Court.

The Directors were further to show why Ayayi should not be granted his freedom after his arrest on January 6, 2005.

The Court ordered; "the respondents, that is, Directors of BNI and GIS, must issue a written statement indicating why the applicant is being held and whether it will not be appropriate to grant him his freedom".

Mr Hayibor said GIS had not been candid to the Court, as Ayayi was deported on January 14 after they had been served with the Court's order.

He said between 1350 hours and 1400 hours the two Directors were duly served with the order of writ of Habeas Corpus but defied it and deported Ayayi.

"Mr Lord Security Agencies must learn to respect the rule of law. Our main concern is the open defiance of the two Directors," he stated.

Mr Hayibor submitted that his client should be allowed to reapply to the Court to enter the country because two of his children were in Ghana.

He asked the Court to award punitive cost of 10 million cedis against GIS to serve as deterrent to others.

Speaking to Journalists at the Court, Mr Hayibor said he would re-apply for his client to re-enter Ghana.

Ayayi arrived in Ghana on January 6, but was picked up by the Security Agencies because he was alleged to be "a security threat".

He was held by BNI but was later handed over to GIS because they found out that his problem boarded on documents on his stay in Ghana.