Mustapha Foyo Gbande is the Deputy Director of Operations at the Presidency
The Deputy Director of Operations at the Presidency, Mustapha Foyo Gbande, has spoken out against the approach taken by National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) operatives in their attempt to arrest the Member of Parliament for Assin South, Rev John Ntim Fordjour.
According to Gbande, the method employed by the operatives was completely unacceptable.
He emphasised that the appropriate procedure, as prescribed by law, would have been to formally invite the MP rather than attempting a direct arrest.
He explained that the operatives should have recognised the lawmaker’s status as a sitting Member of Parliament and extended the appropriate courtesies, such as initiating contact via a formal phone call.
“It wasn’t necessarily wrong, but it was not acceptable. You can’t go to someone’s house, someone who is an Honorable Member and deprive them of the privilege of an honorable invitation. If I’ve done something wrong, due to the nature of my position and standing in society, the police could simply place a phone call and say, ‘Mustapha, we want you to come and assist with an investigation,’” he said in an interview with Woezor TV on April 13, 2025.
Gbande stated that had the MP declined such an invitation, alternative measures, such as the attempted arrest at his residence, could have then been considered as a last resort.
“That phone call constitutes an official invitation. If you refuse to comply, the state can take it a step further and use other means to ensure cooperation. Additionally, the authorities can write officially and send officers to serve the individual with an invitation letter, which is also a form of lawful summons. If the person fails to comply with the date stipulated in the invitation, then reasonable force can be used to effect an arrest,” he added.
Gbande acknowledged that the situation could have been handled more appropriately.
He argued that had the operatives secured a proper warrant authorising the arrest, they would have been within their rights to not only arrest Ntim Fordjour but also detain the minority MPs who allegedly obstructed justice by attempting to prevent the arrest.
“If the correct first step had been taken, we could have ransacked all the noisy minority members and NPP executives and locked them up for trying to obstruct justice. But because that first step wasn’t followed, I believe we could have handled things better. That said, Ntim Fordjour must still be arrested,” he asserted.
On April 9, 2025, the minority in Parliament blocked an attempted arrest of one of its members by operatives of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB). This followed allegations made by Rev Ntim Fordjour regarding two suspicious flights that allegedly landed at Kotoka International Airport carrying drugs and cash.
MAG/MA
Watch the latest TWI news below:
