Breaking: BNI denies raiding Danquah Institute, NPP offices
The Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) has denied raiding the offices of the policy think tank Danquah Institute and the home of Capt (rtd) Edmund Koda, the head of security of the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo.
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A section of the media reported that the BNI raided the Danquah Institute (DI) late Thursday night and ransacked the office of Perry Okudzeto, the deputy director of communication of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Some reports also claimed that the BNI raided Capt (rtd) Edmund Koda's home in Weija, Accra.
Several pictures purportedly showing some of the locations in disarray flooded social media Thursday night, triggering outrage and condemnation from a section of the public.
But a high-level source within the BNI has disclosed to Graphic Online that claims that the intelligence outfit raided those locations are false.
The source said the BNI had gone to the Danquah Institute to speak to the director as part of their investigation into the importation of three South African former policemen by the NPP to allegedly train the security detail of the flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo, and his running-mate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
The source said the BNI dispatched three operatives and one uniformed person and a driver to the offices of DI at about 4 pm, but upon arriving there, the watchman was the only person they saw.
According to the source, before they could ask the watchman any questions, he ran into a room, locked himself up and would not open.
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The source said: “The officers asked him to call the Director of DI to come over and he could only shout ‘I’ve called him. He will come, he will come’.”
“It is important to note that all the offices were locked and it is also important to stress here that nobody attempted to enter any of the officers but after waiting for a while in vain, they withdrew.
"We have not raided any place. We don't even know where this is coming from .We simply set out to do our work."
"So it is very shocking and outrageous for anybody to suggest that the officers had access to any of the rooms let alone to ransack those places. We completely deny and we challenge anybody to strict proof on this," the source added.
Captain Koda
The source said in the case of Capt (rtd) Edmund Koda, the BNI searched his house in his presence.
The source said: “This was at the time that he himself was with us yesterday but he told us the key to his house was inside his car which he had parked in Nana Akufo-Addo’s house but in order not to create the impression we had invaded Nana’s house, we stopped at the Nima Police Station and asked someone to bring the key from his car and this was done.
“We then moved to East Bortianor and searched the house in his presence. We did not raid his house.
“He himself willingly opened room after room for the search to be conducted and the search was conducted in the presence of three able bodied men who had accompanied us from Nana Akufo-Addo’s house and this was allowed because it was Captain Koda’s request that an independent person observe the exercise.
“The allegation that Captain Koda’s house was raided is a wicked fabrication.”
The source also denied that the BNI raided Perry Okudzeto's office, stressing that his name has not popped up in the ongoing investigations.