Bobie Ansah’s arrest: Kwakye Ofosu drags Samira Bawumia over 2016 comment on Mahama

Former Deputy Minister for Information under the erstwhile National Democratic Congress government, Felix Kwakye-Ofosu, has called out Second Lady of the State, Hajia Samira Bawumia following the arrest of Accra FM journalist, Bobie Ansah.

Bobie Ansah was arrested and detained on Thursday night and according to the police, it had investigated claims by the journalist that the first and second ladies of Ghana had appropriated some state lands to themselves. The claims, following investigations were established as untrue.

He was thus arraigned before the Kaneshie Magistrate Court on Friday on charges of publication of false news and offensive conduct.

But reacting to the development in a Twitter post sighted by GhanaWeb, Kwakye-Ofosu accused the second lady of having double standards and being a hypocrite.

Mr. Ofosu shared a 2016 publication by GhanaWeb, in which the second lady during a campaign event, tagged then President John Dramani Mahama as corrupt.

The former deputy minister pointed out the similarity between the 2016 statement by the second lady and that made by the embattled journalist.

“In 2016, Samira Bawumia launched this senseless attack on Prez Mahama. She was neither arrested nor put on trial. Bobie Ansah is on trial for saying something about her,” Kwakye-Ofosu tweeted.

In a statement on Friday morning, the police said Bobie Ansah “on January 11, 2022, while hosting the Citizen Show on Accra FM, together with three others, allegedly made several statements against some individuals.”

According to the police, while its investigations into the said allegations made by Bobie Ansah and his guests established same to be false, several attempts to get the journalist and his guests to honour an invitation to assist in investigations failed, hence his arrest.

A video of the January 11, 2022 show hosted by Bobie Ansah as sighted by GhanaWeb indicates the said allegations by the journalist and his guests were made against the first lady of the Republic, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo.

Bobie Ansah, during the show, accused the first lady of appropriating state lands to herself for the use of her private foundation.

“Do you know that Rebecca Akufo-Addo and Samira have appropriated for themselves the aviation lands?” he questioned in a short video of the programme obtained by GhanaWeb.

“As I speak to you today, there are Chinese nationals working on the aviation lands that were acquired by Kwame Nkrumah for the state for the expansion of the aviation sector for its growth. Rebecca Akufo-Addo has had the guts to apportion the state land to herself and is putting up a project in the name of her foundation – an NGO,” he added.

While raving about the allegations, Bobie Ansah, who is known to be an ardent critic of President Akufo-Addo, further accused the first lady of joining the president in what he described as thievery and corruption.

“I used to think it was Akufo-Addo and his family members alone who were doing evil to the nation, but the woman has also joined. Per documents I have received… the bad and evil she wants to do to the nation.. the thing is Rebecca is a thief,” his rant was interrupted by one of the guests on the show who was prompting him to exercise restraint in his comment.

While Bobie Ansah was being prompted by one of the guests, the remaining two of the three guests urged him on.

The show then continued with the host showing a video of the supposed project site of the alleged Rebecca Foundation construction.

Meanwhile, former President John Dramani Mahama has described the journalist’s arrest as a confirmation of a growing criminalization of speech and journalism under the current government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

According to Mr Mahama, he deems the situation under the current administration as appalling.

The former president made this known in an open letter addressed to his successor on Friday, February 11, 2022, following the journalist’s arrest.

Meanwhile the journalist appearing before the Kaneshie Court on Friday was granted a GHC50,000 bail and has been asked to reappear on Monday, February 14, 2022.