Friday, July 17, 2009
HEARING of the suit initiated by a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Akwasi Osei-Adjei, against the Director of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) and the Attorney-General for violating his fundamental human rights has been adjourned to July 24, 2009.
The matter was adjourned because the Deputy Attorney-General, Mr Ebo Barton-Oduro, who had been designated to represent the respondents in court, was indisposed.
A State Attorney, Mr Elikpim Agbemava, produced a medical report indicating that the Deputy Attorney-General was indisposed and accordingly prayed the court to adjourn the matter to July 24, 2009.
However, counsel for Mr Osei-Adjei, Mr Godfred Yeboah-Dame, opposed the application on the grounds that the Attorney-General’s office had enough competent lawyers to represent the respondents in court.
The court, presided over by Mr U.P. Dery, upheld Mr Agbemava’s plea and accordingly adjourned the matter to July 24, 2009.
Mr Dery also indicated that he would hear arguments from both parties on the application on the next adjourned date.
According to Mr Osei-Adjei, the seizure and detention of his passport by officials of the BNI was “flagrantly unlawful and a palpable violation” of his human rights, but the A-G’s Department holds a different view.
He said the BNI, which seized his passport on May 26, 2009 at the BNI offices, had acted “maliciously and in bad faith” and could, therefore, not be trusted to conduct any independent and impartial investigation into the role he played in the importation of rice when he was Minister of Foreign Affairs.
He is, therefore, praying the court to declare that the seizure of his passport was not constitutional and an abuse of his fundamental human rights, as well as a further order directed at the Director of the BNI to release his passport unconditionally.
Mr Osei-Adjei is also seeking an order of prohibition directed at the Attorney-General and the Director of the BNI to restrain them from further curtailment of his right to freedom of movement without a court order.
However, the A-G's Department has defended the detention of Mr Akwasi Osei-Adjei's passport on the grounds that the BNI was mandated, under the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act (Act 526), to investigate Mr Osei-Adjei.
According to the A-G's Department, Mr Osei-Adjei, who was suspected of causing financial loss to the state through the importation of huge quantities of rice, was likely to abscond if he had access to his passport.
It further stated that Mr Osei-Adjei’s suit was aimed at detracting the BNI from investigating his unlawful importation of rice, as well as inflating the price of the rice.
The affidavit in opposition, dated July 8, 2009, said the applicant was being investigated by the state for acts or omissions which had caused huge economic loss to the state.
It said instead of arresting and granting him bail, the BNI decided to invite him to assist in investigations and to restrict his movement while investigations continued.
It further argued that the BNI’s decision to detain the applicant's passport was "perfectly legal and constitutional", adding that it was in accordance with the fundamental human rights provisions in the 1992 Constitution and more particularly under Article 14 (1) (g) of the 1992 Constitution.
Article 14 (1) (g) of the 1992 Constitution states, "A person can be deprived of his personal liberty upon reasonable suspicion of his having committed or about to commit criminal offence under the laws of Ghana."
It further stated that Article 14 (3) of the Internal Security Agencies Act states that the internal security agencies had the right to detain or restrict the movement of the applicant upon reasonable suspicion of his having committed a criminal offence under the laws of Ghana.
It said the BNI was permitted, under the laws of the land, to restrict one's movement to ensure that subjects of criminal investigations, such as Mr Osei-Adjei, appeared before the BNI to continue with proceedings preliminary to trial.
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