Tapsoba’s arrest: Akufo-Addo’s way of persecuting NDC – Basintale

The arrest former Deputy Coordinator of the defunct Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship Development Agency(GYEEDA), Alhassan Tapsoba, by the Bureau of National Investigations(BNI) can be described as persecution against the opposition NDC, according to Malik Basintale.

The deputy Northern Regional Communication Director, who was reacting to the release of Mr Tapsoba after he was detained for about four (4) days without any reason, stated the government used the BNI to “intimidate” the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

“I want to say that this won’t scare us,” Basintale said on Inside Politics on Radio XYZ 93.1 as he urged NDC communicators not to be cowed into submission by the controversies surrounding the arrest and release of Alhaji Tapsoba.

He said the government wanted to every means to prevent the NDC from criticising the Akufo-Addo adminsitration which has done “little to better the lives” of the Ghanaian people.

“That is victimization and it is unfortunate. However one thing is that this won’t prevent us from criticizing the Akufo-Addo government,” he said on Friday afternoon.

He believes the BNI operatives were autocratic in how they treated Tapsoba prior to his release, adding “he could have been invited to come with his lawyers because he is a former appointee who would have honoured the invitation.”

“Why do you keep such a man in your custody without allowing him have access to his lawyers?” he quizzed.

The former Deputy Coordinator of GYEEDA was picked up and detained by the Bureau of National Investigations(BNI) on Monday.

Ashanti Regional Chairman of NDC, Mr Augustus Andrews (Nana Kwasi) on Wednesday told Mugaabe Maase, on Inside Politics he did not know the reason behind the arrest, but hastened that they were speaking to our lawyers “to assist in the handling of the matter.”

Despite the party’s effort to see Tapsoba, the BNI prevented them from meeting him. Not only was his family prevented from seeing the former GYEEDA boss after he was picked up for a crime yet to be disclosed, his lawyers also said they were not granted access to Mr Tapsoba ever since he was picked up by the unidentified men.

Executive members of the National Democratic Congress who frequented the BNI headquarters in hopes of catching a glimpse of Tapsoba had their hopes dashed.

XYZ News‘ Ashanti Regional correspondent, Jonathan Ofori who had spoken to security personnel and officers within the NDC in Kumasi since his arrest reported that nobody would reveal to him the reason behind the detention.

The NDC was unhappy about the detention of Alhaji Alhassan Tapsoba who is one of the party’s leading members in the Ashanti Region, and announced to party faithfuls to gather at the BNI office in Kumasi to register their displeasure.