The Interior Minister, Muntaka Mubarak, is scheduled to appear in Parliament to discuss the purported search warrant that was carried out at the home of Dr. Ernest Addison, a former Bank of Ghana governor.
Due process and the operation’s motivations have come under scrutiny after highly armed National Security agents allegedly raided Dr. Addison’s residence in Roman Ridge on Wednesday, March 19.
Parliament must hold the administration responsible for the acts of security agencies, according to MPs, especially those from the New Patriotic Party Minority Caucus, who have demanded complete transparency on the legitimacy and rationale for the raid.
The search warrant’s justification and the accusations that led to the operation are anticipated to be clarified by the interior minister.
Majority Leader Mr. Mahama Ayariga, however, has defended the operation, claiming that it was a legally compliant search warrant rather than a raid. “Mr. Speaker, it is quite legal for law enforcement to have gone there and conducted a search. Therefore, it is obviously incorrect to use the word raid,” he stated.
Since Mr. Ayariga disclosed that the Interior Minister would not be available on Tuesday, March 25, a new date for the Minister’s appearance has not yet been set.
It is anticipated that the Interior Minister’s presentation before Parliament will shed light on the events leading up to the purported raid.
The allegations state that on Wednesday, March 19, armed personnel, roughly 20 in number, attacked the private home of Dr. Addison, the former governor of the Bank of Ghana, under the purported leadership of Mr. Richard Jakpa, Director of Special Operations at the National Security Secretariat.
According to eyewitnesses, the heavily armed officers allegedly turned off the Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) system before conducting a search of the residence.
According to reports, the heavily armed men, some of whom were reportedly equipped with AK-47 semi-automatic rifles and wearing balaclavas, asked that Dr. Addison take them to the “vaults” in his home.
But according to reports, Dr. Addison told them that he didn’t have any cash on hand or in any vaults. In spite of this, the CCTV system was reportedly disabled before the security guards stormed the house.
Witnesses reported that no vaults nor substantial sums of money were located.
Eventually, the security guards reportedly took the CCTV monitor and control device with them.
After the raid, Dr. Addison, his wife, and their family are said to be traumatized.