BY Nadia Ntiamoah
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Asutifi North, Ebenezer Kwaku Addo, has been arraigned before court over his alleged involvement in the violent attack on a task force from the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) during a security operation at Bronikrom near Hwidiem in the Ahafo Region.
The development follows a string of condemnations from the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Ghana Police Service, and Parliament, all calling for accountability and an impartial investigation into the attack, which occurred on Saturday, November 1, 2025.
According to preliminary police findings, the NAIMOS team, made up of military and police officers, had intercepted illegal mining activities in the area and arrested several suspects, along with the seizure of unregistered vehicles, firearms, and mining equipment.
However, while the team was preparing to hand the suspects over to the Hwidiem Police Station, a group allegedly led by the MP and numbering over 600 stormed the scene, forcibly releasing the suspects and vandalizing police property.
The situation escalated into chaos as the mob besieged the Hwidiem Police Station, destroying vehicles and threatening to set the station ablaze.
It took a joint intervention by regional police reinforcements, military personnel, and local traditional leaders, including the Zongo Chief of Hwidiem, to restore calm.
Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga confirmed that Kwaku Addo had appeared at the CID Headquarters in the company of his lawyer and the Majority Chief Whip before being formally charged and taken to court.
“He went with the Majority Chief Whip and his lawyer. They received him at the CID headquarters and took him through the processes. I received a call not long ago that he has been taken to court, and as we speak, he is being arraigned,” Ayariga said on the floor of Parliament.
He further reminded his colleagues that no Member of Parliament is above the law and that the legislature would not shield any lawmaker found culpable.
“As Members of Parliament, we hold public trust. We are not above the law and must be accountable for our actions and inactions,” the Majority Leader stressed.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, also pledged Parliament’s full cooperation with law enforcement agencies investigating the incident.
He disclosed that he had directed the Office of the Clerk of Parliament to provide every necessary support to the ongoing investigations by the Ghana Police Service.
“I have instructed the Office of the Clerk to provide all the needed support to the investigation by the Ghana Police Service,” the Speaker said, emphasizing that Parliament will not serve as a refuge for misconduct or interference with national security operations.
Meanwhile, Ebenezer Addo has denied the allegations, insisting that his presence at the site was merely to help calm tensions and ensure a peaceful resolution between the security task force and local residents.
He maintains that he did not incite the youth or obstruct the NAIMOS operation.
The case has attracted national attention, particularly because of its implications for the ntensified fight against illegal mining (galamsey).
The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has described the incident as “an affront to the state’s anti-mining efforts” and has vowed that all perpetrators — regardless of their political or social standing — will face justice.
The police say a special operation is underway to identify and arrest all individuals involved in the attack, while the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters continues to lead the probe on the orders of Inspector-General of Police, Christian Tetteh Yohuno.
