The Awutu Senya East NDC parliamentary candidate, Phillis Naa Koryoo Okunor has just been released after her overnight detention at the Cantonments Police Station.
Phillis was detained at the Police Station following her arrest on Friday, June 7, 2024.
This detention triggered mass protests on social media and at the police station premises, with some describing the move as an attempt to silence the NDC.
Commenting on the development, the NDC’s 2024 flagbearer urged the IGP and the government to recognise the importance of justice in maintaining peace and stability and called for Naa Koryoo’s immediate release.
“There is no justification for the decision by the Inspector General of Police George Dampare, on the orders of the National Security Advisor, Albert Kan Dapaah, to detain a Parliamentary Candidate for the Awutu Senya East Constituency in Police custody.”
“This action, taken on the instructions of the National Security Secretariat, will needlessly raise the political temperature in the country and spark avoidable tension. The Police Service and the IGP must not allow themselves to be used to hang the peace and stability of our nation months before crucial national elections.”
“I call on the IGP, the Peace Council, the government, and the people of Ghana to recognise that justice is not just a moral imperative but a crucial prerequisite for maintaining peace and stability in a nation. We cannot allow the police service to be used to stifle opposition and intimidate innocent Ghanaians and political opponents in the run-up to the 2024 elections,” Mr Mahama said on his Facebook page.
But hours after interventions by her legal team and some NDC bigwigs, including the National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, former National Security capos Kofi Totobi Quakye and Larry Gbevlo Lartey, she was released from detention just before midday on Saturday, June 8, 2024.