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A swarm of Bishop Daniel Obinim supporters yesterday charged on the premises of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at police headquarters in Accra as police officers used water cannons and baton charges to dispel them, albeit unsuccessfully.

No sooner had the police charged on them than they soon returned with gusto ready to break the cordon.

The seeming cat and mouse drill continued for some time, both sides getting frustrated.

Reports say at least one person was arrested as the supporters chanted for the release of the Man of God.

The police say the arrested man interfered with their work as they battled with the crowd of Obinim’s teeming supporters.

Clad in red attire, the congregants chanted, “No Obinim, no vote” as they tried to enter the premises of the police CID headquarters.

The bishop had been whisked to the CID headquarters in handcuffs where he had been sent to from his overnight abode at the Nima Police Station at about 10.40 am for an alleged fraud case.

Bishop Obinim, who is the founder and leader of the International Godsway Church, was arrested Tuesday in Tema for allegedly defrauding the complainant identified as Bismark Kusi, to the tune of GH¢11.6 million.

However, his lawyer, Samuel Atta Akyea, described the allegation as cock and bull story with no merit.

He said trying to criminalise his client was an attempt to divert public attention from the embarrassing Montie 3 story.

He is also facing assault charge for flogging two members of his Tema parish for fornication, leading to pregnancy.

Supporters

At first it was thought that he should be moved to the backside of the CID headquarters to create an impression that he was no longer there and could have been taken elsewhere but with some of the supporters milling around, that did not appear to be a wise step.

Eventually, he was moved to the Narcotics Unit – also within a walking distance.

That appeared to have worked as some of the supporters and even media persons concluded that Obinim had been transferred to the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).

Many of the supporters then started leaving the place out of a state of hopelessness, not knowing where to go; but later converged at various spots around the CID vicinity stretching to the Ako Adjei Overpass.

Bishop Obinim’s overnight hosts, the Nima District and Divisional Commands, had their fair share of trouble containing the colossal supporters.

An unusual swarm of supporters of the founder of the International God’s Way Church started amassing at the Nima Police Station soon after he was whisked to the place from the police headquarters Tuesday evening where he and his colleague, Apostle Abraham Solomon, were being detained.

His overnight detention and its resultant attraction of many vehicles to the adjoining street slowed down vehicular movement from the Nima roundabout towards the Ring road.

A Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) policeman was detailed to control the traffic in front of the police station, the resultant logjam causing inconveniences to motorists.

Policemen at the station appeared to have been pushed to the wall as the Obinim supporters started becoming unruly, their noise and sometimes heckling of the police compelling the law enforcement agents to charge on them.

They were not yielding to the entreaties of the police to leave the premises, their hosts having come to the end of their tethers.

The Nima Divisional Commander, ACP Nuhu Jango, came out of his office in his top civvies bottom, boots and regulation police wears to take over control of the situation.

He looked livid and occasionally did baton charges without the wooden weapon anyway.

He unpacked a crowd control device to perhaps scare them away but that could not, with some of them even hurling stones at especially the media persons present. It could be a pepper spray or so.

The Nima police station became a cynosure of passersby and residents of the neighbourhood and beyond as word seeped into town about the presence of the Man of God at Nima. This did not help matters as more people trooped to the place to set eyes on the man known for his ‘magical’ performances.

Nana Akufo Addo, whose residence is opposite the station, soon came out en route to perhaps his office or elsewhere. When the crowd standing in various groups sighted the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flag bearer in his black vehicle, they yelled almost in unison with words of exaltation. Their excitement and screams of “Nana oo, Nana oo” were curtailed by the traffic light at the intersection – changing to green indicating it was time to drive on. He waved at them before getting out of sight.

At the time of filing this report it was unknown whether Obinim was going to pass another night outside his residence, perhaps at the Nima police station or elsewhere out of sight of his supporters even as his lawyer was fighting tooth and nail to secure him a bail.

Cock And Bull Story

Bishop Obinim’s lawyer said the charge of fraud levelled against his client was a ‘cock and bull story.’

According to Samuel Atta Akyea, the police had not been able to produce the ‘ghost’ making the allegation against his client.

According to the police, the bishop promised to help the complainant get his GH¢780,000 given to one Okomfo Dzakpata of Mampong Nkwanta near Koforidua in the Eastern Region to perform a spiritual ritual to bless him (complainant). The money was obtained from gold proceeds.

Atta Akyea told Joy Fm that Bishop Obinim had pleaded not guilty to the “fabricated story.”

He explained that the evidence being adduced by the police so far was “watery and does not make sense.”

Lawyer Atta Akyea, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Abuakwa South, said the arrest of his client was just a ploy by the government to divert attention from the controversial remission granted the Montie trio by President Mahama.

“Fraud case against Obinim is a ‘cock and bull story; they just want to divert attention from Montie 3. He is not a hardened criminal to be handcuffed and then used on the front pages of newspapers as if this is the most important issue that happened to Ghana. Treating him like a common criminal is not dignifying,” he stated.