The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has criticised the handling of a bail application involving its Bono Regional Chairman, Kwame Baffoe, popularly known as Abronye, describing the reassignment of the case as irregular and troubling.
Abronye was remanded into custody by Circuit Court 9 in Accra over allegations of spreading false news, prompting the NPP to file a motion challenging the decision.
Speaking to media after court proceedings, NPP General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong said the party was taken aback by what he described as a last-minute transfer of the case from Criminal Court Two to General Jurisdiction Court Two.
According to him, the party’s legal counsel, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, had earlier been informed that the matter was assigned to Criminal Court Two, only to discover later that it had been moved.
Kodua Frimpong described the development as “mind-boggling” and alleged that it formed part of what he termed “judicial gymnastics” aimed at frustrating the bail process.
He questioned the explanation that the reassignment was due to an administrative error, asking how a case electronically assigned to a specific court could subsequently be manually altered by a registrar.
Despite their concerns, he said the party complied with the process and followed proceedings at the General Jurisdiction Court, where the matter was eventually heard.
The NPP also raised concerns about Abronye’s condition, stating that he was not present in court and that the party was unable to verify his health status.
“Unfortunately, they didn’t bring Chairman Abronye to the court, and we are very worried about his current health status because we didn’t see him,” Kodua Frimpong said.
NPP Deputy General Secretary Haruna Mohammed, who also spoke after the hearing, cautioned that the handling of the case must not undermine democratic stability.
He argued that the treatment of Abronye was inconsistent with democratic principles and described the situation as unjustified.
Mohammed said the presiding judge directed parties to study the case and return to court the following day, after which the hearing was adjourned.
He added that the party remained committed to pursuing the matter through the courts and expected the Attorney General to respond when proceedings resume.
Mohammed further criticised what he described as selective law enforcement, alleging that recent actions have disproportionately targeted members of the NPP while similar cases involving individuals linked to the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) have not received the same attention.
He also accused the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) of acting aggressively in past arrests involving NPP members, sometimes without court orders, while failing to apply similar measures in other politically exposed cases.
