Treason Felony Charge Against Oliver Barker-Vormawor not an Overkill - NPTS Lecturer Says
- A lecturer at the National Police Training School, NPTS, says the treason felony charge against Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor is not excessive
- Johnson Adusei-Poku stressed that the arrest, remand, and subsequent denial of bail for the leading member of the #FixTheCountry movement are best for the nation
- He indicated that the police is performing one of its core mandates of detecting and preventing crime
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A lecturer at the National Police Training School (NPTS), Johnson Adusei-Poku, has said the treason felony charge against Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor is not an overkill.
His comments come after an Ashaiman District Court remanded into police custody Barker-Vormawor, one of the convenors of the #FixTheCountry movement.
The police arrested Barker-Vormawor on Friday, February 11, for over 48 hours before being arraigned at the Ashaiman District court on Monday, February 14, Citi News reported.
Source: Instagram
The court presided over by Eleanor Kakra Barnes-Botchway, denied a bail application saying the court did not have jurisdiction to grant the accused bail per the charge leveled against him.
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He has been remanded into police custody for the next two weeks and is expected to reappear before the court on Monday, February 28, 2022.
Treason felony charge best for Ghana
In an interview with YEN.com.gh, Johnson Adusei-Poku, a lecturer and police officer at the National Police Training School, NPTS, said the arrest, remand, and subsequent denial of bail for Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor are best for the nation.
Referencing the Criminal and Other Offences Act Section 180, he said the charge against the #FixTheCountry leading member is not excessive.
''There are two charges for such statements; treason and high treason; the former is punishable by life in imprisonment and the latter punishable by death.
''The treason charge is right and not an overkill,'' he said.
Johnson Adusei-Poku further mentioned that denying Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor bail would deter other young people from making such utterances.
Background
The Tema Regional Command of the Ghana Police arrested Oliver Barker-Vormawor over his comment on social media saying he would stage a coup.
Barker-Vormawor was arrested for his coup threat over the controversial E-levy.
He had taken to social media to threaten to stage a coup after photos emerging from the Majority Leader of Parliament's 65th party showed an E-levy-designed cake.
''If this E-Levy passes after this cake bullshit, I will do the coup myself. Useless Army,'' his post read.
The police said Barker-Vormawor's ''post contains a clear statement of intent with a possible will to execute a coup in his declaration of intent to subvert the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, said Joy News.
High Court Throws Out Barker-Vormawor's Application
Meanwhile, the High Court in Tema has thrown out an application by Oliver Barker-Vormawor praying the court to compel the Inspector General of Police, IGP, and Attorney-General to answer some questions about his detention.
He wanted justification regarding why he was held in police custody for over 48 hours before being arraigned at the Ashaiman District court on Monday, February 14.
However, the presiding judge, Justice Daniel Mensah, maintained that the ‘habeas corpus’ application filed by his lawyers cannot hold because Barker-Vormawo has already been put before a court and has been denied bail.
He Got It Wrong - Lecturer at NPTS Reacts to Shatta Wale's Gun Attack Incident
YEN.com.gh previously reported that Johnson Adusei-Poku has criticised Shatta Wale for causing fear and panic after the dancehall musician pulled a gun attack stunt.
Adusei-Poku, who doubles as a detective with the Ghana Police Service, explained that Shatta Wale is a First Degree Personality, thus, commands a lot of influence on the youth.
In an exclusive interview with YEN.com.gh, Adusei-Poku emphasised that the Taking Over hitmaker ''got it wrong''.
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