Deputy Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Justice Srem Sai, has defended the recent raid on the home of former Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison, stating that the operation was conducted in accordance with the law.
Speaking to journalists in Accra on Thursday, March 20, Sai confirmed that proper legal procedures were followed, with warrants procured and used for the search.
“We take responsibility for the search that happened. We want to make it clear that those searches and the mode in which they were done were in accordance with the law. Warrants were procured and used,” he stated.
The raid sparked controversy, with the Minority Leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, and other New Patriotic Party (NPP) executives condemning the act as a breach of democracy and human rights. However, the government insists the actions were part of ongoing investigations into activities of former officials.
Deputy Presidential Spokesperson, Shamima Muslim, also justified the raid, asserting that there should be no problem if due process is followed in investigating officials who served in the previous administration.
“I’m yet to get to the office to receive a full briefing on the matter, but what I can say is that there are some actions going on, there are some investigations ongoing, and there are persons of interest who will be invited now and again to help the investigation process,” she explained.
She further emphasized the need to execute these processes lawfully.
“I will just say that we should execute these processes with recourse to due process and once we are doing that, we should have no problem.”
Muslim also accused the Minority of attempting to undermine the government’s efforts at demanding accountability, describing their response as an exaggeration meant to sabotage the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.
“However, we should also be mindful of how the Minority would always deliberately position themselves to be averse to any action that government takes in its quest to demand audit and accountability of the outgone government… sometimes exaggerating the issue and trying to deliberately misrepresent the action being taken,” she asserted.
The raid on Dr. Addison’s residence wasn’t an isolated incident. On the same day, National Security Operatives arrested journalist Okatakyie Afrifa Mensah, who was later released that evening.
Additionally, on February 11, 2025, the home of former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta was allegedly raided under similar circumstances.
