Weija-Gbawe MP and lawyer Jerry Ahmed Shaib has described the continued detention of Salomey Awiti Baffoe as a “facade” meant to divert public attention from Ghana’s ongoing cocaine controversy.
Mr Shaib made the comments in an interview with JoyNews after the High Court on Thursday, September 24, denied Ms Baffoe’s bail application.
The court had rejected the application after the prosecution argued that Ms Baffoe was still needed to assist with ongoing investigations.
The court said the case involved a cyber-related investigation and that releasing her at this stage could create a risk of interference with witnesses.
However, Mr Shaib questioned the decision to keep Ms Baffoe in custody, particularly because she is facing a misdemeanour charge and has three young children.
“Obviously not,” he said when asked whether he was satisfied with the judge’s decision.
“Against the background that you are dealing with a misdemeanor offence, and you are dealing with a woman who has three children, who children are very young, and there is every reason that she’s not going to interfere with the investigations.”
He argued that the continued focus on Ms Baffoe was taking attention away from the wider cocaine issue, including the reported seizure of a 3.9-tonne consignment in France.
“I actually just think that this is just a facade, a way to divert attention from us speaking largely about the cocaine economy. That is all,” he said.
Mr Shaib also questioned the court’s concern that Ms Baffoe could interfere with the cyber-related investigation by deleting evidence.
He argued that investigators already had access to Ms Baffoe’s electronic devices, making it unclear to him how releasing her would allow her to interfere with evidence.
“Meanwhile, you have the gadgets. No, that is an insult. You have everything of hers. So how is the person going to deal with that?” he asked.
Mr Shaib said authorities should instead pay greater attention to how the large cocaine consignment was able to leave Ghana and reach France.
