Dr Benjamin Agordzo , the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) who has been controversially detained for his alleged involvement in the infamous “Kitchen Knife Coup” has vowed to continue to fight for his innocence.
“I have not committed any crime. I’ve done nothing wrong. The President called upon us to be citizens. So when I express my opinion on a WhatsApp platform, unrelated to any alleged coup, nobody should bog me down. And I will stand for this. I will stand for this to the end. They cannot break me down at all. And I’m as strong as anything. Thank you very much,” he told newsmen on his way from court today.
Whatsup New gathered that his rights are being blatantly violated by officers of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), forcing him to stage a hunger strike in protest.
“His wife prevailed upon him but he said ‘No’, he is not going to eat. He is abhorred at how the BNI is treating him,” his lawyer Martin Kpebu revealed.
ACP Agordzor who has been very vocal at against political interference in the security agencies, has been picked up for apparently sending a Whatsup Message to a man suspected to have been planning the Kitchen Knife coup, Dr. Frederick Yao Mac-Palm, the Chief Executive Officer of the Citadel Hospital.
“Essentially, they are holding him over WhatsApp messages. The fact that he was giving advice on lawful means of holding demonstrations and donating towards a philanthropic course. They also say he said conditions for Arab spring are rife in Ghana, this something that most commentators on various issues have one point said before,” Martin Akpebu explained in interviews shortly after his client was picked up.
ACP Agordzor was picked up with a suspicious list of other top police officers, including Commissioner of Police (COP) Kofi Boakye and Superintendent Peter Lanchene Toobu, the former Executive Secretary to the immediate-past Inspector General of Police (IGP) David Asante Apeatu. The last two individuals have been linked to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Kofi Boakye was tipped to have been a potential running mate to the NDC’s John Dramani Mahama, while Lanchene Toobu openly revealed his political preference for the NDC when he run for a a parliamentary seat on the ticket of the NDC in Wa West Constituency.
Critics have raised serious questions about the composition of those being picked up as alleged conspirators to the Kitchen Knife Coup d’état.
Reports picked up from sources within the security agencies indicate serious uneasiness among the ranks of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) and other security agencies as it appears political polarisation has infested the agencies.
About a month ago, the Akufo Addo administration announced claims some alleged coup plotters were engaged in an “elaborate plot targeted at the Presidency.”
Mr. Agordzor has been charged with abetment for treason by the state after he was invited for questioning on Monday. He is currently on detention at the BNI.
Dr. Frederick Yao Mac-Palm and his alleged accomplices have been caged earlier for treason. They currently await trial. Some of the names mentioned in the kitchen knife coup include military officers: Colonel Samuel Kojo Gameli, Geshon Akpa, Warrant Officer Esther, Lance Corporals Seidu Abubakar, Solomon Ali and Sylvester Akankpewu, they are all facing charges ranging from conspiracy to commit treason, treason, conspiracy to possess explosives, arms and ammunition as well as possession of explosives, arms and ammunition without lawful excuse.