Ghana’s opposition party the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has condemned the kidnapping of Sylvia Patience Baah, Emirates Airlines Airport Manager, as an act of “state-sponsored terrorism” that exposes the alleged lawlessness of the current government just days before the national presidential election.
The senior Emirates Airlines manager was abducted near Accra in a dramatic incident that has significantly heightened political tensions in Ghana, with her kidnapping allegedly carried out by individuals connected to Ghana’s National Security Secretariat and National Investigations Bureau (NIB) on 21 November, the party says.
Baah was reportedly detained for nearly 24 hours and later abandoned near Ashaiman after being threatened.
She was later rescued by the police and reunited with her family.
But in a scathing press statement released on 27 November, the NDC detailed the harrowing kidnapping that occurred on 21 November, accusing national security operatives of abducting Baah in a retaliatory act linked to a professional dispute.
“The National Democratic Congress (NDC), has followed keenly recent reports of the kidnapping of madam Sylvia Patience Baah, the Emirates Airlines Airport Manager in Accra, by operatives of the National Security Secretariat and the National Investigations Bureau (NIB),” the statement read.
“She was blindfolded, handcuffed and bundled into an unknown vehicle by a team of hoodlums belonging to the National Security and National Investigations Bureau.
“She is reported to have been manhandled and subjected to a harrowing ordeal in the hands of these bandits who drove her over two hours to an unknown location.”
The abduction occurred just days before the country’s critical presidential election, adding fuel to already tense political discourse.
The party alleges the kidnapping was connected to an altercation involving three individuals: Kwabena Adu-Boahene, Director General of the National Signals Bureau; Benjamin Ansah, the bureau’s Operations Director; and a local businesswoman named Rashida Saani Nasamu.
“These individuals are said to have had an altercation with madam Sylvia Baah in the line of her professional duties. Sylvia’s subsequent abduction is seen as an act of retribution for stepping on the toes of these persons and other powerful individuals within the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government,” said Sammy Gyamfi, NDC’s National Communication Officer.
“For eight years, Ghanaians have witnessed a reign of terror in which certain miscreants within the national security apparatus have continuously taken the law into their own hands.
The NDC has called on the Inspector-General of Police to conduct “immediate impartial and transparent investigations” and to arrest and prosecute those responsible for the incident.
The NDC condemns in no uncertain terms, this brazen impunity and outright lawlessness by supposed officers of law enforcement and state security.
The kidnapping comes just ten days before Ghana’s presidential election on 7 December, with the opposition positioning the event as evidence of governmental misconduct under President Akufo-Addo’s administration.
The NDC’s statement emphasized that the upcoming election represents an opportunity for change, with the party positioning its candidate, John Dramani Mahama, as a “Nation-Builder” who will “restore social justice and the rule of law in Ghana.”
Emirates Airlines and Ghana’s National Security Secretariat have not yet commented on the incident.
Meanwhile the police have assured the public that an active search is ongoing to apprehend the suspects behind the crime, emphasizing their commitment to justice.
