“What really hindered us from going to Parliament to consult with our Parliamentarians?...Parliament should recall the issue and deliberate on its pros and cons in order to brief Ghanaians about the truth behind the transfer of the detainees,” he said.
The Parliamentary Aspirant was contributing to discussions on Peace FM’s flagship programme, “Kokrokoo” Thursday.
On Tuesday, President John Dramani Mahama, at his third consecutive Meet-The-Press, told media practitioners gathered at the Flagstaff House that considering the emergency state of the request for the hosting of the detainees, government could not under those circumstances refer the issue for parliamentary consideration.
The President also dismissed the report that there was some monetary inducement associated with the deal.
But the former Morning Show Presenter, in his submission, said he was certain the deal was accompanied by some financial handout.
He pointed out that the American government will not transfer the two detainees; Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih, unlawfully kept in detention for fourteen years for no crime committed, without any form of monetary compensation.
“How much has the American government paid and to who?...it is not true that America will dump these two in the country without one kobo, one dollar...everything government is saying smacks of insensitivity,” he said.
Touching on comments by President Mahama that the ex-detainees are "low risk" individuals who had not engaged in any direct operational activities in the Afghanistan crisis and all security checks did not indict them of any criminal activity, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said that cannot be accurate.
He quoted copiously from a leaked 2007 US Department of Defense document which profiled Mr. Bin Atef as a committed supporter of "extremism" to advance his arguement. According to him, the report also suggested that the two detainees were high risk terrorists as at 2007, and wondered how they became “low-risk” threats in a matter of 3yrs.
“The detainee is assessed to be a fighter in Osama Bin Laden’s 55th Brigade and it’s an admitted member of the Taliban. He participated in hostilities against US and coalition forces and continues to demonstrate his support for Osama and extremism. He is a high risk and is likely to pose a threat to the US, its interest and its allies," he alluded to the report.
Meanwhile, Ghana's Foreign Affairs Minister, Hanna Serwaa Tetteh has refused to comment on the leaked 2007 US Department of Defense document which profiled Mr. Bin Atef as a committed supporter of "extremism".
According to her, the papers being paraded around on Facebook are not part of the document given to the government of Ghana and therefore cannot comment on it.
The said report alsos uggested that the two ex-detainees were "HIGH RISK threat to the US, its interest and its allies" but of "MEDIUM intelligence value" as at 2007.
Hon Hanna Tetteh however disclosed to 3FM on Thursday in an interview that the US Embassy is likely to respond to the issue since they have referred it back to them.
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