The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has condemned the arrest of the president-elect of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) Lukman Abubakar.

The police arrested Abubakar at the premises of TV3 when a rival group of NUGS clashed with his side.

“Lukman Abubakar was beaten and manhandled by the police and he is currently in pain,” a statement from the youth wing of NPP alleged.

“We cannot phantom how and why the police will extend its bias hands in the handling of issues in this country to the students fraternity. This unreasonable act beats our imagination.”

Below is the full statement

NPP Youth Wing Condemns Arrest of NUGS President
We have received with shock news of the arrest of the president-elect of NUGS, Lukman Abubakar by the police. This incident happened last night at the premises of TV3 following a phone call by a so-called rival group of NUGS. Lukman Abubakar was beaten and manhandled by the police and he is currently in pain.

We cannot phantom how and why the police will extend its bias hands in the handling of issues in this country to the students fraternity. This unreasonable act beats our imagination.

It is however, obvious that some persons in government have hands in what is going on. It is instructive to note that, whiles Lukman is in pain and still held by the police and denied bail or treatment, the NDC side of the issue are left to walk freely. This is shameful to say the least and contravenes the tenets of justice.

Lukman Abubakar has become very critical of this government relative to issues bothering on students and education. It is apparent that this government finds him uncomfortable to deal with hence all the shenanigan to oust him and replace with an NDC favourite. This incompetent government have sworn not to give the Lukman administration the peace of mind to work for the betterment of the students of Ghana.

Government should be minded by the myriads of problems facing our students and youths. High school fees, lack of jobs after school etc. These are problems that government should focus on solving and not using the security services to suppress the students.

We want to condemn this act by the police in very strong terms. They should be police for all and not NDC alone. There must be equity and fairness and that is what we call for. The police should release the student leader without further delay and save this nation of the continuous embarrassment.

...Signed...

Salam Mustapha
Deputy National Youth Organiser