Dr. Obed Asamoah, a former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, has urged that security officials should not prosecute individuals for allegedly making statements about coups or threatening coups d’etats simply by word of mouth.
According to him, a person should be jailed for threatening a coup if there is sufficient proof that the individual intends to carry out the coup and has already taken certain measures or activities toward that aim.
Dr. Obed Asamoah, speaking on Eyewitness News on Wednesday, said he thinks remarks about future coups d’etats are made out of enthusiasm and do not always indicate a plan to carry them out.
“There is a distinction to be made between words and action.” [If I were the Attorney General,] I would only intervene if there was proof of a plot to stage a coup. I’ll simply assume it’s over-excitement if someone is just talking. “I’m not going to go around arresting people for that,” he said.
Some observers have warned that the country’s deteriorating economic state might render it susceptible to a military takeover.
Prof. Raymond Atuguba, the Dean of the University of Ghana School of Law, has stated his concern that Ghana might face a coup if the government does not respond quickly.
“In our nation, we do not want a coup. “However, I am concerned that if we do not move swiftly, we may soon have one in our hands,” he remarked at a speech in Accra.
Two separate trials against people accused of treason-related offenses are now underway.
Some members of the public have advised that discussions concerning coups d’etats be taken seriously and addressed, while others have expressed their worry that one is near.
Calls for coups, according to Dr. Obed Asamoah, are unjustified since the consequences are catastrophic and do more damage than good.
“I know they [coup plotters] believe they’re helping the poor, but they have no idea what truly occurred [before].” They’ve never been through a coup d’état. One of the things that happens during the coup is that individual troops seek retribution on civilians. They harass people because they’ve had problems with them in the past, which isn’t helpful,” he said.