Who’s given security operatives power to arrest people at registration centres - Kwaku Azar asks

Legal luminary and professor, Stephen Kwaku Asare alias Kwaku Azar has criticised the arrest of persons suspected to not be Ghanaians by security operatives at voter registration centres, wondering who deployed them and empowered them to effect such arrests.

There have been the arrests of persons by security operatives on suspicion that the persons seeking to register as Ghanaian voters are not Ghanaians.

In some instances, it emerged that the persons are indeed Ghanaians with the requisite documents to register as Ghanaian voters.

In one instance, a retired Ghanaian soldier was wrongly accused of being Togolese and arrested in the Volta Region when he attempted to register.

Prof Azar is seeking an explanation from the Electoral Commission(EC) as to the reasons for the presence of security operatives at their registration centres.

Using the case of one Elvis Kweku Saglah who was arrested on suspicion he wasn’t Ghanaian and arraigned before court, Prof Azar concluded that the mode of operation of the operatives seeks to intimidate and harass.

Before Mr Saglah’s family and relatives’ could testify in court that he was indeed Ghanaian, the case got adjourned and he was granted bail.

The rules allow for persons to petition the EC over the registration of persons that are suspected to not be Ghanaians and kick start the legal process for a court to declare whether or not the persons involved are Ghanaians.

Read Prof Azar post below:

According to GNA, Elvis Kweku Saglah was arrested by some men perceived to be National Security operatives, who were present at the Assemblies of God church registration station, on suspicion that he is a Togolese attempting to register to vote.

The GNA further reports that Saglah’s relatives and friends stormed the Court ready to testify to his Ghanaian nationality but the case was adjourned to July 27, after being granted bail in the sum of ¢6,000 with two sureties.

This arrest seems designed to harass and intimidate. The EC must explain why these operatives are at a registration center and who has empowered them to arrest people on suspicion that they are not Ghanaians.

I hope some Good Samaritan lawyer can help Mr. Saglah.

128/1820 is a bona fide scam and sham.