Ghana Jollof Case: Does section 208 of criminal code only apply to NPP? – Ntim Fordjour questions

Assin South MP, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, has questioned whether Section 208 of the Criminal and Other Offences Act is being applied selectively, particularly in the case involving the arrest and remand of senior nursing officer Salomey Awiti Baffoe over her alleged links to UK-based TikTok user Barbara Asantewaa Kodua, popularly known as “Ghana Jollof."

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, September 19, Rev. Ntim Fordjour criticised the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for publicly showing a video involving Salomey while, according to him, failing to show similar content by other individuals.

“Now the question I’m asking is, it is so shameful for the CID Director, very upset and hypocritical, of her to play the video of Ghana Jollof and fail to play the video of Kevin Taylor and the others,” he said.

He questioned the decision to organise a press conference to showcase Salomey’s content, particularly the circumstances surrounding her arrest.

“And to organise a whole press conference just to be able to showcase how Salomey, a mother of four young kids, abducted and extracted from her home 400 kilometres away from the capital to be kept, denied access to her lawyers and their offices, circulating false information,” he said.

Rev. Ntim Fordjour also questioned why other people who, in his view, have circulated content that could fall under Section 208 have not been arrested or questioned.

“How many people in this country have circulated and keep circulating offensive, false publications and content that are offensive conduct of hate speech and false publication affronting Section 208 of the Criminal and Other Offenses Act and have not been arrested and have not been questioned?” he asked.

He further alleged that some individuals continue to produce and circulate content he considers offensive because they are perceived to support the government.

“How many people today keep circulating, keep producing content that are vilified but because they are favourable of this government, they have not been arrested? It is most hypocritical,” he said.

The Assin South MP questioned whether Section 208 was being applied only to members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) or people critical of the government.

“The question is, does Section 208 of our criminal code apply to only NPP people or people who deem to be critical of this government?” he asked.

Rev. Ntim Fordjour also questioned the scope of investigations into online content, asking whether authorities were identifying only individuals associated with the NPP.

“Does President Mahama and the Secretary of Architecture only know the IP address of NPP people? What about the NDC people who are still perpetrating such offences under Section 208?” he asked.

He described the situation as troubling and called on the clergy and other influential members of society to speak out.

“It is appalling. And I’m appealing to the clergy: let us rise up. This is the time,” he said.

He urged chiefs, journalists, religious leaders and other respected members of society to condemn what he described as unfair application of the law, regardless of political affiliation.

“This is not the kind of society we preach messages for to shape. Whether you are NDC or NPP, this is the time. If you’re a chief, if you’re a respected journalist, clergy, let us rise up and condemn these acts and ensure that the law is applied fairly,” he said.

DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.

Tags:  

DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.