NPP Accuses Government of Political Persecution After Communicator Baba Amando Remanded

The New Patriotic Party has accused the government of using state institutions to target its members, after party communicator Baba Amando was remanded into custody for two weeks by an Accra circuit court.

Addressing a press conference in Accra on Tuesday, NPP National Organizer Henry Nana Boakye, Esq. described Amando’s arrest and remand as “a state-sponsored political abduction disguised as law enforcement” and “abuse of judicial power to criminalize free speech and oppress dissent.”

The Facts Presented by NPP

According to Boakye, Baba Amando was invited by police in Sunyani on Monday, April 13, 2026, and honoured the invitation with his lawyer, Tuah Yeboah. He said Amando was then transported to Accra the same day because Sunyani Police claimed “the order for the arrest came from above.” Amando was granted police bail and directed to report to Police Headquarters on Tuesday, April 14, which he did.

“Yet upon reporting as directed, Baba Amando was not released. He was bundled to court not on the strength of new evidence, not on the independent judgment of the Police, but because of a supposed ‘order from above,’” Boakye told journalists.

He said Amando was charged with publishing false news over an AI-generated image of some ministers of state depicted in LGBTQ attire. In court, Boakye stated, the prosecutor did not oppose bail and made no application for remand.

Amando’s legal team, led by Minority Leader Osahen Afenyo-Markin and MP Nana Agyei Baffour, argued for bail and presented evidence that he was not a flight risk and had honoured all police invitations, according to the NPP.

Despite that, Justice Kuunsong of Circuit Court 9 remanded Amando for two weeks “under the guise of interfering with police investigations,” Boakye said. He accused the judge of abandoning his constitutional role as neutral arbiter under Article 125(1) and “descending into the arena” to act as prosecutor.

“If the police was fortified by the evidence that the accused person was in the position to temper with their investigations, they would not have granted him a police bail,” Boakye argued. “When the State… does not seek to curtail liberty and incarcerate a suspect, what extra judicial interest does the court have to do so on its own motion?”

He called the ruling “judicial overreach” that offends rights to personal liberty under Article 14 and free expression under Article 21(1)(a).

Allegations of Double Standard

Boakye alleged a double standard in how free speech cases are handled. He cited past comments by President John Mahama, Sam George, Felix Ofosu Kwakye, and Malik Basintale against former President Akufo-Addo and former Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, saying none of them were invited by police or charged.

“Prez Mahama… baselessly accused Prez Akuffo Addo of enabling his family members to steal for him,” Boakye said. He also referenced a 2024 TikTok livestream in which Malik Basintale allegedly accused Dr. Bawumia of “engaging in immoral act such as eating pork.”

“They walk free… But Baba Amando speaks and is caged for two weeks. Ghana now has two laws: one for government and members of the NDC, one for critics,” he said.

Boakye also pointed to the arrest of NPP Bono Regional Chairman Kwame Baffoe Abronye on Monday for allegedly describing an Adenta circuit judge as a political judge. He contrasted this with a 2023 statement by then-opposition leader Mahama accusing the government of “piling the Judiciary with judges sympathetic to the New Patriotic Party.”

“What exactly is the striking difference between Abronye’s statement and that of Prez Mahama’s statement when he was an opposition leader?” Boakye asked.

EOCO Raid, ORAL Criticism

The NPP further condemned what it called an “unlawful invasion” of the residence of Maxwell Kofi Jumah by the Economic and Organised Crime Office. Boakye said EOCO acted “without warrant, without cause, and without shame,” calling the raid “intimidation” and alleging the agency has been “weaponized” by the government.

He also criticised the government’s Operation Recover All Loot initiative, saying it “has just become a persecution tool.”

NPP Demands

The party issued three demands:

1. That government “immediately cease and desist the weaponisation of law enforcement agencies and stop the harassment of political opponents.”
2. “The immediate review of this perverse remand order.”
3. That the Chief Justice “investigate this clear case of apparent political bias on the bench.”

Boakye said the party views the developments as “the growing use of state security apparatus to intimidate and silence dissenting voices” and warned it raises “serious questions about the state of free speech and civil liberties.”

He added: “To the Judge: Your robe is not a party card. To the Government: Ghana is not a dictatorship. To Baba Amando: You are not alone.”

Call to Focus on Governance

The NPP Organizer said the arrests were a “diversionary tactic aimed at shifting public attention away from pressing national challenges,” listing issues including LGBTQ debates, the economy, galamsey, dumsor, cost of living, and unemployment.

“Instead of persecuting political opponents, this government should… pay and recruit teachers, recruit and pay nurses, provide jobs for the many unemployed youth, fix galamsey, fix dumsor, reduce the cost of electricity,” Boakye said.

He concluded by quoting Minority Leader Afenyo-Markin: “That thing that we cherish melts, and it melts with time.”

Government, Judiciary Yet to Respond

As of publication, the government, the Ghana Police Service, EOCO, and the Judiciary had not issued formal responses to the specific allegations raised at the press conference.

Baba Amando remains in custody following the remand order from Circuit Court 9. The case is expected to return to court in two weeks.