Legal luminary Sam Okudzeto says it was illegal for operatives of the Bureau of National Investigations to seize the passport of former Information Minister Stephen Asamoah Boateng. He said the travel passport is a right guaranteed by the national constitution and therefore should not have been seized without express direction of a court. Asamoah Boateng was Sunday night physically prevented from boarding a British Airways flight to the US with his family for a two week vacation. His passport was seized by operatives of the BNI, however his enraged wife snatched it back when the officials failed to show any identity card. Deputy Information Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa had told Joy FM’s Super Morning Show host, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah that the passport was a government of Ghana property and could be revoked or seized when necessary. But Mr. Sam Okudzeto disagrees. He told Joy News’ Matilda Asante Asiedu that if government or any agency wants to revoke a citizen’s passport, it has to go to court to explain the grounds under which the passport needs to be revoked or seized. “I think it is very important for us to appreciate that we are living under a constitutional regime, (we are) no longer in the situation where militaries were in power, they arrest people, lock them up as they choose (and) seize their passports. A passport is a right that every citizen has a right to.” Quoting from the Ghana Law Reports, he said a case decided by the courts held that a “passport is the property of the individual. Let’s not mislead ourselves simply because it is indicated that the passport is issued by the government of Ghana.” On the specific issue of the BNI preventing Mr. Asamoah Boateng from travelling, Mr Sam Okudzeto said the BNI had no right to do so without telling Asabee what his crime was. He said the BNI does not have any extra powers more than the police and cannot arrest a citizen without a warrant or defining the crime which a person is being invited. A citizen, he argued, has the right to demand an arrest warrant at the point of arrest and the presence of their counsel before being interrogated. The lawyer expressed worry about the creeping politicization of the security agencies in the country. “I do not know how the (Deputy) Minister of Information got himself involved in what happens in national security. BNI is a state security apparatus. It is not meant to be part of the work of (government so that) the minister of Information should be explaining what BNI does. He said situation where government officials spoke for the BNI was fueling the perception that the agency is being used to persecute the government’s political opponents. “It is in government’s own interest to try and extricate itself from what BNI does,” he advised. Story by Malik Abass Daabu/Myjoyonline.com