…..Calls Adam Bonaa as witness
Retired Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Benjamin Agordzo, recently acquitted in a high-profile coup plot case, has pointed fingers at the Minister of Defence, Dominic Nitiwul, alleging his involvement in orchestrating the former police officer’s arrest and subsequent treason trial.
In an interview on Joy News on January 25, 2024, ACP Agordzo, claimed to possess evidence of Minister Nitiwul, threatening him just two weeks before his arrest. Saying “He can take me anywhere he wants, and I will prove to him that he was the one who did it. And I am saying this on record because I have it on my phone. Whatever he said is on the phone”.
Agordzo, in an interview on TV3’s Hot Issues on Tuesday, January 30, 2024, detailed the alleged threat made against him by Minister Nitiwul.
He said that Nitiwul referred to a post he shared on a possible uprising in Ghana after the issue of the coup came up on the said WhatsApp platform and said he (ACP Agordzo) must be brought to order.
“I am currently on the same platform with the defence minister. The name of the platform is ‘Alert with Adam Bona’. Now, on that platform, we have the defence minister, the interior minister, we have politicians, we have spokespersons of this current government. We have police officers, we have military officers and active, and we have all kinds of people, the media people, most of the media people are even on that platform.
“So, there was a comment or somebody posted something about a caption, that civil uprising is imminent. And then it generated discussion. And we all shared our views. Some agreed some didn’t agree. I realized there was even at that point a misunderstanding of the term. And so, I made my point forcefully to say that, look, some of these elements are there. We better take steps to avert them rather than denying them,” he narrated.
He added, “Now, these were some of the comments. I’m just paraphrasing what I said. Now, these comments went and nobody talked about it. Then months after or weeks after, when the issue of this alleged coup plotters were arrested, there was discussion about this. And some people were saying, oh, it couldn’t have been a coup… Then all of a sudden, the defence minister reposted that comment I had told you about and then added ‘This is way off the mark. He must be brought to order’.
According to Agordzo, the minister threatened him on a WhatsApp platform named ‘Alert with Adam Bona,’ which included various government officials, politicians, media personnel, police officers, and military personnel.
Agordzo explained that a discussion on potential civil unrest in Ghana ensued on the platform, where he expressed his views on the matter.
Later, when the issue of the alleged coup plotters arose, Minister Nitiwul reposted Agordzo’s previous comment and added, “This is way off the mark. He must be brought to order.”
Expressing his displeasure, Agordzo reported the threat to Dr. Adam Bonaa, the security analyst who created the platform. Bonaa intervened, stating that the platform was open for diverse opinions..
Agordzo emphasized that he was arrested approximately two weeks after the incident on the WhatsApp platform, linking the threat to Minister Nitiwul.
ACP Agordzo went on to say that he expressed his displeasure about the threat and contacted the administrator of the WhatsApp platform, security analyst, Dr Adam Bonaa, to intervene.
“I protested why anybody should threaten me on this platform. I reported the issue to Adam Bona, who created the platform and whose name is on the platform. Adam Bona contacted him and came back to me to say that, well, he has spoken to him, that, look, this is an open platform… and therefore you should allow people to express their views.”
He added that he was arrested about two weeks after the incident with the minister on the platform.
“These are all on record, and we could go back to it. And he, himself, and I mean, anybody on that platform could access what I’m talking about. And so, I was threatened by the minister. And if just barely two weeks after the threat, I was arrested, where would I look? I could only look at the, I can only attribute it to the defence minister.”
The Ghanaweb news portal reports that its source on the platform confirmed the altercation, but it remains unconfirmed whether it directly caused Agordzo’s arrest and subsequent trial.
The retired ACP’s revelations add a new dimension to the already complex case, raising questions about the motives behind his prosecution.
