Audio By Carbonatix
Foreign Minister Hanna Tetteh has disclosed she was not privy to some of the details surrounding the coming into Ghana of two terror suspects.
According to her, the decision was taken by president John Mahama in consultation with some security chiefs.
Speaking to an Accra based radio station 3FM, Hanna Tetteh said at some point of the discussion, she had to be excused.
The arrival into Ghana of Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby has triggered lots of controversy in the country.
Government and its spokespersons have boldly defended the decision to bring the two into Ghana but major stakeholders including the Christian Council, and other pressure groups have kicked against it.
Concerns have been raised about why the president did not consult Parliament before taking the decision. Pressure Group, OccupyGhana has also threatened to go court on the matter but the Foreign Minister insists government did no wrong in taking the decision.
"We have an executive presidency. Once it became a matter that was effectively a national security decision, it was within the purview of his Excellency the president to take that decision as to whether we will accept them.
"The decision as taken is not illegal." she said
Explaining why Ghanaians were not informed about the arrival, she said the discussions were purely a national security issue- some of which went beyond Foreign Affairs.
"At the time the discussions were on going, especially because at that point in time it no longer was a Foreign Affairs discussion, it was a national security discussion. There were some of those discussions i was not privy to," she added.
When her attention was drawn to the 2007 leaked US Department of Defense document which suggested that the two detainees were high risk terrorists, the Foreign Minister said that document was not part of the document given to the government of Ghana and that she saw it facebook .
"Those were the documents that i have seen floating around on Social media is not part of the documentations that was made available to us for which reason i referred it back to the US embassy
"They are going to respond to it.
"That document was not made available to us at the time we were making our assessment," she said, adding she would not comment on that document.
Latest Stories
-
iLotBet launches exciting iPhone 17 giveaway for World Cup season
2 hours -
Man found dead after alleged attempted attack on church in Sefwi Asafo
3 hours -
SIC Insurance launches electric vehicles to advance green transition agenda
4 hours -
Kpandai Assembly supplies maize to boarding schools ahead of lean season
4 hours -
Ghanaian mining engineer Dr Linda Abangbila earns PhD in China after five-year AI research journey
4 hours -
GES bans cars, money bouquets on school premises as Education Ministry halts SHS graduations nationwide
4 hours -
Broadway star Iris Beaumier eyes collaboration with Ghana’s arts and culture sector
4 hours -
“God Bless You”: The Currency of Gratitude Among Ghana’s Poor
6 hours -
Heal Komfo Anokye Project to respond to governance and accountability claims
6 hours -
Calls grow for NHIS to cover prescription glasses after over 500 miss free eye care in Bono Region
7 hours -
Nkwanta South: Death toll from Odomi attack now 4 as curfew takes effect
7 hours -
Impakers Creative Hub earns Trade Minister’s praise at Ghana–Italy Circular Economy Dialogue
7 hours -
Coderina EdTech donates STEM materials to support ICT, coding education in Ghana
7 hours -
Iran recloses Strait of Hormuz, citing Israeli strikes on Lebanon
7 hours -
Hackman Owusu-Agyeman backs St Augustine’s teachers’ housing project by APSU 2002 to mark 97th anniversry
8 hours