The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, says the Committee will invite the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service to explain how cases involving offensive social media content are being handled.
The Assin South MP said the Committee is taking interest in a recent press briefing by the CID Director-General, COP Lydia Yaako Donkor, and wants further information on other cases and investigations that were not covered.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile, Rev. Ntim Fordjour said the Committee wants the CID to provide a broader account of how similar cases are being investigated across the country.
“I would like to indicate that, as the ranking member of Defense and Interior Committee, we’ve taken interest in the press conference that was recently done by the Director General of Ghana CID, and so we are going to invite her.
“We’re going to haul her and her minister before our committee at the earliest opportunity to apprise us of all such similar, you know, incidents which didn’t find expression in her press conference and actions being taken across the board. We are very interested.”
He said the Committee had identified several other incidents involving offensive videos, comments and security-related intelligence that it believes should be brought to the attention of the Police.
Rev. Ntim Fordjour said some of the cases, in his view, could have significant security implications beyond those highlighted at the CID briefing.
“We want to point out to her across the board of various offensive videos, comments, and certain incidents and intel that have come to our attention and also publicly known, which have been so conspicuously being glossed over, which have bigger weight and bigger a magnitude and, security implications than what she singled out.”
He said the Committee would therefore require the CID Director-General and the sector Minister to explain what action had been taken in relation to such cases.
“So we are going to haul her before Parliament,” he added.
The comments come after the Police briefed the public on investigations involving TikTok account operator Barbara Asantewaa Kodua, popularly known as “Ghana Jollof,” and the arrest of Salomey Awiti Bafoh, who has been accused of aiding the circulation of the content.
Salomey has pleaded not guilty and was remanded to reappear in court on September 30. The allegations remain before the court.
