The New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Agona West Constituency has called for the immediate release of its Constituency Organiser, David Essendon, popularly known as Sam Toys, following his reported arrest by a joint team of police and National Security operatives.

The party alleges that Essendon was arrested at his residence after he criticised President John Dramani Mahama over the return of intermittent power outages, commonly referred to as “dumsor.”

According to a report by adomonline.com on May 12, 2026, the NPP’s 2024 parliamentary candidate for Agona West, Christopher Arthur, confirmed the arrest and described the incident as disturbing.

He explained that prior to the arrest, Essendon allegedly received a message from a police officer identified as Detective Inspector Eric Gyan Aboagye of the CID Headquarters Special Investigations Unit.

“There is a case of publication of false news on 24/04/2026 in which you are involved. Kindly make yourself available. Failure to do so by 30/04/2026 will lead to the issuance of an arrest warrant,” the message reportedly stated.

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Lawyer Arthur said the message was initially dismissed as fraudulent due to increasing incidents of impersonation and online scams.

He, however, alleged that a team of security personnel later arrived at Essendon’s residence in three vehicles and carried out the arrest.

According to him, the manner of the arrest has unsettled party supporters and members within the constituency.

Lawyer Arthur further accused the authorities of attempting to silence dissenting voices, arguing that citizens should be free to express concerns about national issues, including the country’s ongoing electricity challenges.

He maintained that criticism of governance and public service delivery, such as power supply issues, should not result in intimidation or arrest.

MRA/VPO

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