A Leading Member of fixthecountry campaign, Efia Odo and 12 other members were arrested by the Greater Accra Police over what the police described as an unlawful assemble at the Accra High Court premises
The Lawyers after several hours of meeting with the Accra Region Police Head of Legal and Prosecution plus the Crime Officer managed to secure the bail for the protestors.
The lawyers say the bail was without conditions and the police also failed to prescribe specific charges against their clients.
A member of the fixthecountry campaign, Brownson Adatsi said it is rather unfortunate that Greater Accra Police are denying them a peaceful demonstration
“This is a good sign for the struggle. When you deny a peaceful demonstration, a clamorous demonstration becomes a recipe. You can’t just act outside the law. The police which should be educating people are rather flouting the laws. This is a good sign for our struggle, and we are all going to meet them wherever they want to meet us”, he said.
Mr Adatsi is yet to come to terms with the reason why the police arrested his colleagues, adding, “I don’t know the reason for which they have picked them up because they haven’t done anything. They haven’t disturbed the public peace, neither have they disturbed the court proceedings. They were at the entrance, and they have the right to hold whatever they were holding. We will follow it up and know what is next for us.”
The arrest comes shortly after the High Court dismissed a preliminary objection against the Attorney General representing the Police Service in the case.
The lawyers for the leaders of the protest march objected to the Attorney General’s appearance in court on Monday, arguing that the case was purely and solely within the domain of the Ghana Police Service to prosecute.
But Justice Ruby Aryeetey of the Criminal Division of the High Court agreed with the submissions of the Attorney General in the matter.
In her ruling, Justice Aryeetey said the Attorney General was the go-to person for all criminal trials in the country, and for all civil trials involving the government and its agents.
She held that the Police Service is not competent to handle a suit on behalf of the state without the authorization of the Attorney General, since the reliefs sought are all issuable in the name of the Republic, and, more so, because the Police Service is not a corporate body to sue and or be sued.
Efia Odo, after she has been granted bail narrated that the judge called for a recess, and she was taking pictures with some of the conveners who had come there to show their support, then, all of a sudden, the police comes in with their guns as if they are criminals
She further lamented that even at the police station, they were not informed of the reason for their arrest.
“They never told us the reason for the arrest. They told us to write our statement and I compiled.”
They have been asked to report to the police on Monday for further investigations.