Phillis Naa Koryoo Okunor was detained at the Cantonments Police Station on Friday, June 7, upon invitation, which angered sympathisers of the NDC who later besieged the premises to demand her release.
Delali Sewarkpor, the personal assistant to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for Awutu Senya East, Phillis Naa Koryoo Okunor, has described her detention as a political persecution being carried out by elements within the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The personal assistant said supporters of Phillis Naa Koryoo Okunor and sympathisers of the NDC have yet to be told the reason for her detention. He alleged in an interview with Selorm Adonoo on The Big Issue on ChannelOne TV that the PC’s arrest was an orchestration by either the Presidency or the Minister for the Interior.
“The only information we are getting is that it is an order from above for her to be arrested and it is only the president or the Interior Minister that can call for her arrest and this is purely political persecution.
“Since her arrest yesterday [Friday, June 7], we are yet to know the reason for her detention except for some speculations. Yesterday, she was invited by the Kasoa Divisional Police Command when they found a gun in her car, they asked for the documents about the gun and she produced all the documents to support that she has the right to possess the gun. The gun was not even found by the police but some NPP thugs.”
Phillis Naa Koryoo Okunor is suspected of having been arrested in connection with her possession of a gun and the stabbing of the son of the Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya East Mavis Hawa Koomson on the dawn of Sunday, June 2, 2024.
Delali Sewarkpor, however, denied her involvement in the stabbing stating that she was nowhere near the scene of the incident.
“She [Phillis Naa Koryoo Okunor] was not even at the scene when Hawa Koomson’s son was stabbed, and she only went to the police station in the company of Mustapha Gbande to help calm down tempers in the constituency. ”
Read Also >>> I acquired a gun to protect myself against Hawa Koomson – Phillis Okunor
Former President John Dramani Mahama has strongly condemned the detention of NDC Parliamentary Candidate for Awutu Senya East, Phillis Naa Koryoo, calling it a move that will raise political tensions.
Mahama in a statement 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.
Read Also >>>> Mahama condemns detention of Naa Koryoo, calls for her immediate release
The National Communications Officer for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, has slammed the leadership of the Ghana Police Service over the arrest of the party’s parliamentary candidate for Awutu Senya East, Phillis Naa Koryoo Okunor.
Sammy Gyamfi in a post on his Facebook page, alleged that Naa Koryoo was arrested by personnel of the police service controlled by the New Patriotic Party (NPP). He questioned the transformational mantra of the police service and described the arrest as a nonsensical act from the police hierarchy.
Sammy Gyamfi in his post said the concerns raised with the spelling of the PC’s name on the gun’s document are flimsy, trivial and false and do not warrant her arrest.
He asked what the police did when the current Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya East Mavis Hawa Koomson threatened Naa Koryoo which compelled her to register and possess the gun she is detained for.
“This same Hawa Koomson has threatened Naa Koryoo at gunpoint on four (4) different occasions, according to her lawyers. This is why she was compelled to buy and register a gun in her name for her protection.
“What a load of nonsense from the Dampare-led Police. Is this the transformation of the Ghana Police Service that IGP Dampare promised Ghanaians – that a Parliamentary Candidate of the NDC will be detained overnight by the Police for a reason as flimsy and trivial as this?”
He added that the leadership of the police must bow its head in shame for being controlled by the ruling NPP to effect these arrests of political opponents and said the NDC will not be intimidated by such acts.
“The leadership of the NPP-controlled Police must bow down their heads in shame for allowing themselves to be used by the despotic Akufo-Addo/Bawumia/NPP government against innocent civilians.
“We in the NDC will not be intimidated or cowered by this disgraceful and oppressive conduct of the Police. The demand for the release of Phillis Naa Koryoo Okunor continues today. #FreeKoryooNow #ResistOppressorsRule.”
