The National Communications Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi has condemned the Ghana Police Service for allegedly detaining the party's parliamentary candidate for Awutu Senya East Constituency.

This, according to Mr Gyamfi, is because no reason has been given by the police for the arrest and subsequent detention of Madam Phyllis Naa Koryoo Okunor.

In a post on his social media page, the outspoken politician described the development as an attempt to silence the NDC.

Giving more details, Sammy Gyamfi explained that, “Her offense is simply that a weapon (gun) was found in her car. The said weapon is registered in her name. All the necessary registration documents have been submitted to the Police.

"Unlike, Hawa Koomson who in 2020 actually fired a gun at a registration center, Naa Koryoo has not fired any gun or weapon. Yet, the …Police service is hellbent on detaining her.”

He, therefore, called on all party faithful to throng the Cantonments Police Station where the parliamentary candidate of the party for Awutu Senya East Constituency, Naa Koryoo Okunor, has been detained.

Find his post below:

Background

On Sunday, June 2, 2024, the Ghana Police Service issued a statement claiming that three individuals were arrested at Ofaakor for possession of a firearm without lawful authority. 

The suspects, including Ms. Okunor, Mustapha Mohammed, and Abdul Aziz Musah, were apprehended while onboard a Honda CRV car with registration number GX-2044-19 near the Electoral Commission Office at Ofaakor.

During the arrest, a pump-action gun with four rounds of ammunition was retrieved from the vehicle.

However, in an interview on Wednesday, June 5, Ms. Okunor emphasised that she was only invited by the police and not formally arrested. 

She reiterated that the firearm found in her car was legally licensed.

“I have never been arrested. Yes, I was invited to the police station. I was not arrested. I was there because I had to go there.

“My driver was arrested, and my security guard was arrested because a licensed gun was found in my car…It was far away from the registration centre," she said.

She also said she acquired the gun to protect herself from the incumbent NPP MP and Minister for Fisheries, Hawa Koomson, because the police had failed to protect her in previous altercations where the MP allegedly attacked her and in some cases fired gunshots.

Before the arrest over the possession of a gun, a clash between the NDC and the NPP at the EC's office at Ofaakor in the ongoing votes transfer exercise, had led to the stabbing of Ato Koomson, the son of the incumbent MP and Minister of Fisheries, Hawa Koomson, who was hospitalised. The suspect in that stabbing incident has also been arrested and detained.

It's unclear whether the NDC Parliamentary Candidate's subsequent arrest is related to the stabbing incident or rather the possession of a gun.