Lawyer and anti-corruption campaigner Osagyefo Oliver Barker-Vormawor has questioned the decision by the Ghana Police Service to publicly declare the operator of the “Ghana Jollof” social media account wanted.
Barker-Vormawor criticised the police notice identifying Barbara Asantewaa Kodua as the person behind the account, arguing that authorities could have relied on established international legal cooperation mechanisms if they believed she was outside Ghana.
He particularly questioned the police decision to describe Kotoka International Airport as Kodua’s last known location despite indicating that investigations had pointed to her being outside the country.
“You know the person is not in Ghana. You have come to write ‘last seen at Ghana International Airport’. Why, was the person cleaning the airport?” he wrote.
According to Barker-Vormawor, where police investigations identify a suspect believed to be in the United Kingdom, the appropriate course would be to engage the relevant authorities through existing legal cooperation arrangements.
“If your investigations have pointed to someone; you have mutual legal assistance arrangements with the UK. Why not use that quietly? Why not pursue cooperation and extradition with UK authorities,” he said.
He questioned the need for what he described as a public announcement instead of pursuing the matter through established law-enforcement channels.
Barker-Vormawor said the development reflected what he considered shortcomings in the manner in which some police investigations were being handled.
“I am so tired of substandard policing,” he added.
He ended his criticism with a sarcastic reference to his own whereabouts, challenging the police to locate him if they wanted to demonstrate their investigative capacity.
“If you want my last known location, I am in common sense. Come and find me,” he wrote.
