The Invincible Forces, the security arm of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), “never” invaded the Flagstaff House following the investiture of President Nana Akufo-Addo, acting Chairman of the party, Mr Freddy Blay, has said.
“It’s not possible, they were not there, they never went to the Flagstaff House, anybody who tells you that ask them for the fact, it’s not true, I can assure you the Invincible Forces never went to the Flagstaff House, at all,” Mr Blay told Kwadwo Asare Baffour Acheampong on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen, a political talk show on Monday.
Mr Blay’s comments follow rumours that the Invincible Forces went about harassing some police officers at the presidency and even stripped one of them in the process for allegedly not being sympathetic to the government.
“Some people make it look like they [Invincible Forces] are a violent group who are ready to do anything but name me one instance where they’ve been involved in unlawful activity, nothing of the sort,” Mr Blay said in defence of the group following the invasion of some state institutions by sympathisers of the NPP after the change in government.
A few days ago, Mr Blay justified the thuggery and violent takeovers, saying the Invincible Forces were just protecting state properties.
Mr Blay said he would not condemn all the takeovers since, according to him, the perpetrators were acting in the interest of the state.
“… In some cases, particularly places like the harbour, DVLA, Peduase Lodge, polling stations [sic] and so forth, in some cases the people had to go there to protect state property to ensure that looting stops,” he told Ghanaweb in an interview on Thursday.
“I’ve been told that in some public offices and so forth, all of a sudden those who were working there have refused to come to work, not because they are being intimidated or being chased out, but they themselves have suspected that because of how they came there, or purely based on they being members of the party then in power, some people will chase them out and they’ve left those public places to the wind, to the weather and people have gone there to protect it.”
According to Mr Blay, such persons acting in the interest of the state must not be condemned. “It’s not a question of condemnation. I’ve told you that in some instances I won’t condemn if they were there to protect property,” he added.
Citing examples to buttress his point, Mr Blay said: “At the harbour people are stealing cars, people are carrying away items that should attract duties and so forth, containers being taken away without going through the right processes and so forth, and I think people should be bold enough to say: ‘stop what you are doing’.”
Asked if the NPP sympathisers had the right to take the law into their own hands and become vigilantes, Mr Blay answered: “It is your duty, my duty to stop anybody stealing, even an individual property, if you have good reason to know that what the person is doing amounts to stealing. If you see people stealing cars from the harbour, taking them away, are you suggesting that we should wait and go and call the police before they stop them?”
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