Oliver Barker-Vormawor: Police pick up Ghanaian social activist over coup plot

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The police have picked up the convenor of pressure group #FixTheCountry, Oliver Mawuse Barker-Vormawor, over alleged coup plot.

Barker-Vormawor is on record to have said on social media that he would stage a coup in Ghana if Parliament passes the E-Levy bill.

In a statement, the police said on Saturday (12 February) that Barker-Vormawor is being kept at the Tema regional command for further investigations into his social media post.

In a series of Facebook posts ahead of Thursday’s demonstration against the bill, Barker-Vormawor described the Ghana Army as “useless” for not acting despite the public uproar against the bill aimed at raking in about GHC7 billion annually into the national coffers.

“If this E-Levy passes after this cake bullshit, I will do the coup myself. Useless Army!” Barker-Vormawor said in one of the posts.

In another post he said: “Okay, let’s try again. If this E-Levy still passes after this cake bullshit, then may God….Help us to resist oppressor’s rule, With all our will and might for evermore. (2x)
Useless Army. Anaa, the value is the same?”

“The post contained a clear statement of intent with a possible will to execute a coup in his declaration of intent to subvert the constitution of the Republic of Ghana,” the police statement added.

He is expected to be put before court on Monday (14 February).

Allegation of abduction

Earlier the pressure group alleged that the Ghanaian social activist known for his strident criticism of the government has been abducted.

“The last time his family and lawyers heard from him was at 5:29 pm at which point he informed them that some unidentified armed men had accosted him on his way into the arrival hall at [Kotoka International Airport] KIA,” a statement from the group indicated.

“All attempts by Mr Barker-Vormawor’s family and lawyers to find him since that time have been unsuccessful. The KIA Security, the KIA Immigration Office, the Airport Police Station, the National Bureau of Investigations Headquarters, and the National Security Head Office (Blue Gate) do not have any information on him,” it said.

Mr. Vormawor, a strong critique of the government is said to have left the UK for Ghana “to hold talks with the diplomatic community”.

His recent comments on Facebook sparked debate on social media when he called out the Ghana Army describing it as “useless” and threatened “to stage a coup”, should MPs approve a controversial Electronic Transfer Levy (E-levy).

Source: Daily Mail GH