New Patriotic Party (NPP) member and lawyer, Clement Opoku Gyamfi, has strongly condemned the arrest of Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, describing it as a “setup.”
Chairman Wontumi was picked up by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) on Tuesday shortly after leaving the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) headquarters in Accra, where he had honoured an invitation for interrogation.
Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen, Mr Gyamfi, the former District Chief Executive (DCE) for Amansie South, expressed deep concern about the arrest.
“This is very worrying and sad. They attempted to arrest him last Friday and that failed. The Police invited him for interrogation, which he honoured, only for him to be arrested afterwards,” he said.
“I sense this is a setup, especially with the decision for him to report again to the CID after being granted bail. If they considered him a flight risk, they would have taken his passport.”
Known widely as Kwame Opoku CID, Mr Gyamfi questioned the legal basis for a re-arrest after bail, calling it “unusual.”
He stressed that while no one is above the law, enforcement agencies must act within legal bounds.
“Law enforcement must operate within legal procedures that uphold the rule of law and mutual respect among state institutions,” he added.
Chairman Wontumi is under investigation over alleged involvement in illegal mining activities, including mining in forest reserves and entering protected areas without proper authorisation.
Source: Gertrude Otchere
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