A private legal practitioner, Kwame Akufo has accused the Bureau of National Investigation (BNI) of arbitrariness. The state security body on Monday prevented ex-Information Minister Stephen Asamoah Boateng from traveling to London. He was travelling in the company of his family when BNI operatives insisted he could not travel because he was being investigated for alleged wrongful contract awards at the Information Ministry while he served as minister. It was the second time in two months the minister had been prevented from travelling outside the country. Explaining the BNI’s action, Deputy Information Minister, James Agyenim Boateng said the ex-Minister is under investigation and should have sought clearance from the BNI before traveling outside the country. But Kwame Akuffo disagrees. He told Joy News Ghana is not a Police State or the former Russian Republic where citizens were mandated to seek clearance from the state if they were leaving or entering the country. He explained that under Ghana’s constitution, one's right to free movement can only be curtailed if there is a court order restraining the person or a formal charge of criminality is leveled against the person. “If the BNI feels strongly about the fact the particular person is under investigation, it ought to go to court, charge the person with a crime and get an order to collect his passport,” he argued. “They cannot hide in shadows and say that you are under investigation so you cannot travel. When you reach that kind of conclusion, you are becoming arbitrary, you are being unfair, you are becoming very capricious in the way that you are using your powers.” “We need to know what he is been investigated for. We need to know what charges have been preferred against him,” he added. He said if the unfortunate precedent is allowed to continue, governments can use that as an excuse to perpetrate injustice against innocent citizens. “The investigation will be so open-winded that if the government or the people who do not like you are in power for ten years, for ten years you will be under investigation, for ten years you cannot travel. “Your right to travel can be curtailed but you must be able to know why your right to travel is being curtailed,” he said. Story by Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana