Agalga accuses Minority caucus of playing to the gallery over cocaine probe demand

Majority Leader James Agalga has accused the Minority of seeking unnecessary attention with their demand for a parliamentary inquiry into recent cocaine seizures. Addressing Joy News’ PM Express, Agalga stated that the Minority was aware Parliament did not have the authority to conduct criminal investigations. He questioned the purpose of a parliamentary inquiry when arrests, prosecutions, and trials were already underway.

Agalga noted that many individuals had been arrested, arraigned before courts, and some granted bail, while trials were ongoing. He asked how a parliamentary inquiry could add anything to the current proceedings.

The Minority successfully pushed to recall Parliament from recess due to major narcotics seizures linked to Ghana. They secured over the required 15 percent support among MPs to trigger an extraordinary sitting. The caucus sought a bipartisan inquiry into the seizures and potential failures in port security, cargo inspections, and customs controls.

However, Speaker Alban Bagbin ruled the proposed inquiry inadmissible in its submitted form, stating that the scope overlapped with ongoing investigations and pending court proceedings. Bagbin warned that a parliamentary committee could examine matters already before the courts, preventing the inquiry from proceeding as initially proposed.

Agalga invoked the sub judice principle to support his objection, arguing that Parliament’s rules restricted its involvement in matters already under judicial scrutiny. He maintained that the Minority knew these restrictions but pursued the demand regardless, stating that the Minority understood those limitations but was pursuing the inquiry nonetheless.