The Member of Parliament (MP) representing Madina, Francis-Xavier Sosu, has accused the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) of defying a court order to release Shalimar Abbiusi, the spokesperson of The New Force, who was granted bail.

Addressing the media after the court proceedings on Monday, December 11, 2023, Sosu, also Abbiusi's legal representative, characterized the continued detention of The New Force spokesperson as an abuse of power.

He contested the security officials' assertion that the 30-year-old Belgian, Abbiusi, needed to be held in custody due to national security concerns.

“The court has taken note of the fact that immigration has already had her passport. So, she is not a flight risk. So, what would be the reasons why you would continue to want to detain the person?

“For me, that would be an abuse of power and it would undermine the respect for human rights. It would undermine the respect for the dignity of a person. And it would undermine the very constitution that we all subscribe to,” he said.

Sosu added, “Because when you arrest a person within 24 hours you should deal with the person. 48 hours is the maximum the person must be released. But you keep the person for seven days for a misdemeanour and the court admits the person to bail and you still want to keep the person”.

The lawmaker from Madina added that they would need to re-arrest his client if national security desired to keep her under custody.

“That (the National Security taking her away) would amount to contempt of court. In fact, that would be unlawful. It would be an upfront to the decision of the court today. Unless someone is saying she is being rearrested in which case you have to let us know the reason for the arrest.

“… when a person has not committed any offence and you bring the person to the court on specific facts and the court reviews the facts and admits the person to bail, we expected that you would respect the decision of the court. Otherwise, that would not be the rule of law, that would rule of the gaggle,” he explained.

He added that all sureties who would sign the bail conditions of his client to be released are ready.

About the arrest

Shalimar Abbiusi, a 30-year-old Belgian woman who rose to prominence as the subject of a short, viral video announcing "The New Force," was detained by the Ghana Immigration Service.

Abbiusi was placed under arrest while her immigration status in the nation was being investigated.

The Immigration Service took notice of Abbiusi's activities on social media, particularly her role as the spokesperson for "The New Force."

Following an invitation by the Head of the National Enforcement Section at the Immigration Headquarters to address concerns about her immigration status, Shalimar Abbiusi was arrested.

Upon investigation, it was revealed that Abbiusi initially entered Ghana on September 4, 2017, through the Kotoka International Airport and was a frequent visitor until 2018 when she claimed residency as a student at the Ghana Christian University College.

However, inquiries from the college exposed that Abbiusi had never been a student, and the documents purportedly issued by the institution to support her application for a residence permit were forged.

Facing charges related to immigration offenses, Abbiusi has been arraigned before the court for remand into Immigration custody. On December 11, 2023, the court granted her bail after she pleaded not guilty to the charges, including one count of obtaining a student permit by false declaration, as per section 52 (1) (i) of the Immigration Act 2000 (Act 573).