Majority Chief Whip Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor has criticised the arrest of individuals over alleged insults directed at the government and public officials, warning that such actions could have negative consequences for the administration.

According to him, although insulting public officials is unacceptable and should not be encouraged, such utterances do not constitute a threat to the government and should not automatically result in arrests.

Mr Dafeamekpor said repeated arrests linked to political comments could create the perception that the government is attempting to suppress dissent, particularly at a time when the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) is accusing the administration of political persecution and abuse of state institutions.

Speaking on TV3’s The Key Points on Saturday, August 8, he said the government should rather concentrate on fulfilling its mandate instead of allowing arrests over public comments to generate unnecessary controversy.

“I am upset by some of these arrests; it hurts the government. Sometimes government doesn’t even sanction them; it’s the police.

“I think that as government, we must pay attention to some of these things; it doesn’t help. These things don’t detract from the government in any way, so they should allow the people to speak. Let’s focus on our mandate and deliver. As a government, we don’t want this at all. Arresting people and confining them, it doesn’t help us. That is my disclaimer,” he said.

The South Dayi MP urged the government to consider the wider implications of arrests arising from people’s utterances, arguing that such actions could undermine public confidence in the administration rather than strengthen it.

His comments come after the NPP’s “Democracy Under Attack” demonstration on Thursday, August 6, which the party said was organised to defend the rule of law, constitutional governance and democratic accountability.

The NPP has accused the government of political persecution, selective justice and the misuse of state institutions, allegations the government has rejected.