The Speaker of Parliament said arresting legislators without informing the House is a clear breach of Parliamentary immunity.
The Speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Oquaye, has warned the Police not to take any actions towards the arrest of any Member of Parliament without following the necessary Parliamentary procedure.
According to him, arresting legislators without informing the House is a clear breach of Parliamentary immunity.
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The Speaker was speaking in relation to the Inspector General of Police issuing an order for the arrest of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Asutifi South, Collins Dauda.
The order was reportedly issued on Monday evening, to the dismay of the opposition.
However, the Speaker said the privileges the legislature enjoys must be respected by the Police and other security agencies.
“We want the security agencies to be mindful of the fact that the police should not invade the premises of a member of Parliament or appear to be doing so in a manner that will raise unnecessary difficulties for us,” Prof. Ocquaye said.
According to him, legislators must “not to be treated in a manner that will not be consistent with the dignity that an honorable Member of Parliament should be attended to.”
He warned the Police to desist from tolling the same line in future cases, without informing the leadership of Parliament first.
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“We want to put on record that in future, the leadership of the House and the Speaker of the House should be informed of all such needs so that it can be done with the appropriate decency.
“When any invitation is required, we would like it to be routed properly and the appropriate honorable member will attend to the appropriate invitation at the highest quarters, preferably the Commissioner of Police CID in charge of investigations because monkeys play by sizes. If you want an honorable member of parliament, that will be my barest minimum,” the Speaker added.
Collins Dauda has been accused of inciting violence from supporters of the NDC against their political opponents in the Brong Ahafo Region.
Reports suggest that the Asutifi South MP’s house was raided by a team of Police officers on Tuesday.