The New Patriotic Party Northern Regional Chairman, Mohammed Bantima Samba claimed he was able to use the party’s influence to release the TESCON president for Tamale Technical University from police custody two days ago.

According to the regional chairman, it is not allowed to seek bail for an incarcerated person at the police station at the night, but because he is an NPP member, he used the party’s influence to secure bail for him.

He said this when while addressing a group of NPP members at the Tamale Technical University (TaTU) campus, August 11, 2022, following the suspension of NPP activities by the TESCON members. The decision was occasioned by the arrest of their President, Sayibu Ibrahim over his comments regarding the Northern Regional Minister’s public appearance through a Facebook post by Radio Tamale 91.7.

So when I heard the news one of my darling boys was in police custody, I said that it will never happen. Ghana has a constitution, and the police have their principle – do not bail somebody in the night. But chairman Samba broke it (the law), the NPP chairman bragged.

The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Saani Alhassan was accused by students of Tamale Technical University (TaTU) for allegedly causing the arrest of their colleague, who doubles as President of Tertiary Students Confederacy (TESCON), Sayibu Ibrahim. Some executive members of TESCON later called for the suspension of all activities related to party works on the campus. Speaking to journalists on behalf of the group, Agoni Elijah described the arrest of the president as “unlawful”, saying it could be likened to a kidnap.

They served notice through a press conference on the TaTU campus Thursday, August 11, 2022, demanding an unqualified apology from the Northern Regional Minister and the entire NPP executives over what they referred to as an unlawful arrest of the TESCON president.

We as TESCON members TaTU chapter, wish to express our displeasure and disgust at the unlawful arrest of our industrious president on Wednesdays, 10th August 2022. We wish to state categorically that, the arrest was indispensable, unconstitutional, illegal and could be likened to a kidnap, master Agoni said.

The group said the allegations that the TESCON president led his colleagues to attack a UDS female student identified as Alia Mohammed was a calculated attempt to tarnish the reputation of the suspect.

This unlawful arrest was orchestrated by the regional minister, Alhaji Saani Alhassan since his car was used to perpetrate the illegality. We want to bring to the notice of the party that if TESCON members continue to be subjected to this inhumane treatment, we will be forced to suspend party activities on the TaTU campus. We however call on members to stand down on party activities, the group alleged.

They also said for the intervention of the Assin Central MP, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, national chairman, Stephen Ntim and the party’s National Organiser, their colleague would have stayed in the cells.

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Story By: Fuseini Safianu