Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has called for the immediate release of Salomey Bafoh Awiti, a nurse and mother of three who has been remanded in prison custody.
The NPP Flagbearer condemned the arrest and remand of the nurse, describing the situation as worrying that the nurse was picked up in the middle of the night by national intelligence officers and subsequently remanded for two weeks.
The NPP flagbearer said he has consistently opposed the use of insults in political discourse and urged political actors and citizens to engage one another respectfully.
He also raised concerns about what he described as the selective application of laws, arguing that similar conduct by different individuals should attract equal treatment.
Dr Bawumia disclosed that when allowed to lead Ghana, intelligence agencies will not be reduced to chasing citizens for insulting the President or anyone.
In a social media post on Friday, September 18, Bawumia wrote, “The story of how a Techiman-based nurse and mother of 3 (including a 4-year-old), Salomey Bafoh Awiti, was picked up in the middle of the night by national intelligence officers and has been remanded for two weeks on suspicion that she is abetting the publication of false news is very worrying to read.
This is not the Ghana we want to build. I can assure Ghanaians that when given the opportunity, our intelligence agencies will not be reduced to chasing citizens for insulting the President or anyone else.
I have always disavowed a politics of insults and will remind all in the political space of the need to be decorous. The ideas we need to transform our nation won’t come from insults. But I also remind the NDC government that any infringement on the right to free speech pushes our democracy backwards. Free speech, as unpalatable as it may be sometimes, is the foundation of our democracy.
Even more worrying is the government’s continuous selective application of our laws. Some citizens can insult and walk freely, and others are jailed because the government doesn’t like the target of their insults.
Please release Salomey Bafoh Awiti and others who have been similarly charged and jailed.
God bless our homeland Ghana and help us to resist oppressors’ rule!”
Dr Bawumia’s remarks follow the arrest of Salomey, a nurse based in Techiman in the Bono East Region, who was reportedly arrested during a midnight operation at her residence in Hansua.
The incident reportedly occurred between 11 p.m. and midnight on Sunday, September 13, 2026.
According to Salomey’s brother, who was present, three individuals, comprising two men and a woman, arrived at the residence at about 11:30 p.m. dressed in black uniforms, believed to be from National Security.
The family described the allegation as a case of mistaken identity and insists that Salomey has no association with the anonymous account.
Meanwhile, Salomey Awiti Baffoe has been remanded for two weeks by the Adenta Circuit Court 1 over allegations that she is linked to a TikTok account identified as Ghana Jollof, which has been critical of government officials.
The Adenta Circuit Court 1 decision follows the nurse’s arrest in connection with investigations into individuals allegedly linked to the social media account.
Speaking to the media, her lawyer and MP for Manhyia South, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, questioned the basis for her continued detention.
He argued that authorities had told the court that the person behind the Ghana Jollof account is currently in the United Kingdom.
“Because you want to arrest Ghana Jollof, you have remanded her for two weeks. Meanwhile, you told the court that Ghana Jollof is in the UK,” he said.
See the post below:
@ghnow_ I haven’t left the media – Okatakyie #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
@ghnow_ Okatakyie Afrifa says his outspoken nature and views often make people uncomfortable. #GHnow #fyp ♬ original sound – GHnow
