NPP Blasts BNI, Daily Graphic over arrest of 3 SA ex-police

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has lambasted the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) over what he described as calculated attempt by the NDC government to indict the aide of its flagbearer, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo.

Deputy Communications Director of NPP Mr. Perry Okudzeto accused the BNI and the Daily Graphic for putting a political spin on its report to discredit the reputation of the flagbearer ahead of the November polls.

Mr. Okudzeto is outraged by government plans to create confusion in the NPP just for political expediency, saying “I think it is unfair to us as a party.”He was reacting to the arrest of three South African ex-police officers in the Central region for engaging in what BNI described as “acts that threaten the country’s security”.

He said the three South Africans arrested by the BNI are ex-police officials and have the credentials for training security operatives for government functionaries across the world including the former South African President, Thabo Mbeki.

Mr. Okudzeto said the men are in Ghana to train some security operatives of the party adding that “There is nothing untoward about that.”

“We are training our security people to be able to engage in crowd controlling and to protect the Flagbearer as well as the running mate,” he said.On March 20, BNI officials arrested three South African ex-police officers in the Central region for engaging in what it described as “acts that threaten the country’s security”.

The three men, Major Ahmed Shaik Hazis (Rtd.) 54, WO/Denver Dwayhe Naidu (Rtd.) 39, and Captain Mlungiseleli Jokani (Rtd.) 45 were picked up at the El Capitano Hotel in Agona Duakwa in the Central region.

According to the BNI report, “The trio, all ex-police officers were engaged in training fifteen young men in various military drills, including unarmed combat, weapon handling, VIP protection techniques and rapid response maneuvers”.

The BNI document further said that upon thorough “a comprehensive report on the operations of Superblock Technologies Ltd (STL) was found in the possession of Hazis.

The document contained a detailed profile of all the workers of STL, past and present and went on to identify key staff members, giving an assessment of their strengths and vulnerabilities with the view to possibly compromising them so as to get them commit acts that will tend to favour a particular party in the 2016 elections, using the STL security infrastructure.

Images of all workers of STL were also contained in the document.”It also said: “The said training raises security issues given the heightened security awareness in the country following some terrorist attacks in the sub-region.”

The South African High Commission has initiated independent investigations into background of the three men, cross-referencing their details to find out how they got their visas and traveling documents into Ghana.However, Mr. Okudzeto said the three men are not in the country to train the NPP’s security operatives in any military tactics as the BNI alleged.

He called on Ghanaians to reject what he has described as the propaganda of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Mr. Okudzeto said the men are in the country on the invitation of a registered security company here in Ghana adding this was done legally.

He added that lawyers of the trio are looking into the matter and would act at the right time.

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