Abdul Malik Kweku Baako has made claims that the gentleman who secretly recorded President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo allegedly receiving a brown envelope at his Nima residence is currently hiding in the Republic of Benin.

“The guy we are dealing with, I know he has exited to Benin,” Baako said.

According to Baako, the Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, the person behind the viral video is one Salis Yakubu Atsuluho, who owns ‘The Salis newspaper’.

He explained that Salis Yakubu Atsuluho’s stock in trade is to extort money from people using fake videos.

He said, Salis Yakubu Atsuluho was part of those who visited the president’s Nima residence and filmed the people who offered the money to Akufo-Addo.

“Unfortunately, we have the original one, don’t ask me how we got the original,” Baako told Kwami Sefa Kayi on the Kokrokoo Morning Show on Wednesday adding that “So, when he decided to do the fake one, in order to blackmail and collect monies, he collected monies from some people who didn’t know that it was fake…”

Baako continued: “This Alhaji Abass, innocent man, public servant, he has been in that industry for years…...The boy had to do a voiceover on the fake tape. [They inserted] in the question of Alhaji Abass’ job secret or secret of tenure to indicate that they visited candidate Akufo-Addo because of that. He calls candidate Akufo-Addo ‘Your Excellency’. These are all insertions.”

“They were never part of the original. Kwami, the original is longer than the fake. The NDC communicators are suggesting that the fake one [tape] is the one authentic and the original is the fake. This gentleman made a mistake when he was doing the recording and his face appeared in the video,” Baako alleged.

“He woke up (sic) to go to his car to bring Akufo-Addo a T-shirt, and it is in the original. The T-shirt is labelled ‘Arise for Change’. So, does that mean President Akufo-Addo is campaigning for change? Ridiculous; absolute[ly] ridiculous,” disappointed Kweku Baako Jnr said.

Baako explained further, “This was in 2016, October. If you listen to it well, Akufo-Addo referred to a chief who had recently been enskinned as Bismark. He was enskinned in August 2016; they were in then-candidate Akufo-Addo’s Nima residence in October and he, Akufo-Addo, referred to him as the new chief. Don’t take that away from content analysis of timeliness.”

Baako added that in the said original video, there was no mention of $40,000 but just 40,000 explaining that it was a clear indication that they were talking of the local currency.

The secret job of Alhaji Abass, was not part of the conversation, according to Kweku Baako Jnr, but Alhaji Abass was only mentioned by way of introducing the lady guest as the Urban Roads director’s wife.

“This is not the first time [Salis] is doing that; this is how the campaign [war of words] about Anas and Tiger Eye, that’s how it was structured,” Baako observed.