That the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is dead scared of National Security Coordinator, Lt. Col. Larry Gbevlo Lartey (rtd), is because the opposition party is being chased by is own shadow from the immediate past, an intelligence source has told The Catalyst. It said the NPP is crying wolf where there is none, saying members of the opposition party have nothing to fear.

The source said this is to be expected because the previous government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) took the current national security coordinator through hell. “They are afraid he will pay them back for all the things they did to him but I don’t think he will do that,” the source said.

These remarks came on the heels of a hint dropped on Metro TV by Nana Akomea recently, revealing how much the NPP is scared of the national security coordinator under the Mills-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.

In a blistering attack on the national security coordinator on the Good Morning Ghana show, the NPP Member of Parliament (MP) for Okai Koi North had said the national security coordinator “looks sinister in his sunglasses”. The NPP MP could also not understand why from time to time the national security responds to issues on air among others.

The security expert who does not want to be identified said “I can assure you that Gbevlo-Lartey is a cool gentleman who has not an iota of vendetta in his heart and head.” He said the NPP government under former President Kufuor, committed a lot of evil against him to the extent that there was an attempt on his life. “Gbevlo would have been dead from the hands of the NPP if he wasn’t a smart and intelligent soldier. There was an attempt on his life as there was on the life of former President Rawlings,” the source said.

According to him, what the public got to know happened to Lt. Col. Gbevlo-Lartey under the NPP government was only a tip of the iceberg but was not prepared to reveal anymore than the public is already aware, saying it is not necessary.

The source recalled that Col Gbevlo Lartey was implicated in a coup attempt that turned out to be a hoax that was perpetrated by the NPP government. He was immediately interrogated in connection with the alleged coup plot.

This was to be followed by Lt Col Gbevlo-Lartey’s transfer from the Armed Forces Senior Staff College to the Legal Department of the Ghana Armed Forces. Less than two weeks after, he was “honourably released” from the Armed Forces. No explanation was given beyond that. But the worse was to follow exactly two weeks after when an attempt was made on his life.

The intelligence source recalled in 2003, under the NPP government, an attempted assassination was carried out by unknown gunmen on the current national security coordinator. The murderous attempt failed only because the wrong target was mistakenly hit. His younger brother who is his look-alike suffered his fate but missed death by a whisker. The intelligence source recounted that the failed assassins shot his look-alike younger brother at least 5 times in his car at Shai-Hills whilst on his way to the Volta region, thinking he was the one, and left for dead. It said his younger brother embarked on the journey straight from his elder brother’s house. The victim was rushed to the 37 Military Hospital in very critical condition by some good Samaritans where he survived.

Whilst all this was taken place, the coffee shop mafia was deployed to demonise him. The source said in view of this, NPP’s expression of fear about the national security coordinator is expected.

The source also debunked claims by Nana Akomea and others in the NPP that it is wrong for the national security coordinator to be heard speaking to issues on air. The source said the days when mystery was created around national security coordinators are over.