Former Deputy General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Obiri Boahen, has launched a blistering critique of the erstwhile Akufo-Addo government and the party for disbanding its affiliated vigilante groups — Delta Force and Invisible Force — describing the move as politically naive and detrimental to the party’s grassroots strength.
His comments follow a violent incident during the Ablekuma North parliamentary rerun on July 11, 2025, in which former Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister, Mavis Hawa Koomson, and the NPP’s Deputy National Organiser, Chris Lloyd Nii Kwei Asamoah, were physically assaulted by thugs allegedly affiliated with the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
In an interview, Obiri Boahen expressed dismay over what he termed as the NPP’s failure to safeguard its loyalists, arguing that the party turned its back on the very forces that helped secure its 2016 electoral victory.
“As for the NDC, you can’t match them. What happened at Ablekuma North is just a dress rehearsal for the Akwatia by-election. I know the NDC,” he said.
He blamed the NPP’s leadership for neglecting its grassroots operatives and abandoning groups that provided essential protection when the party was in opposition.
“The Invisible Force and Delta Force were the ones that helped us secure power in 2016. Not even the police or military could give us the protection they did. These boys gave us the much-needed shield,” Obiri Boahen declared.
He criticised the party’s support for the 2019 Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, which outlawed political militia groups, saying it weakened the NPP’s on-the-ground defenses against rival aggression.
“It did not make sense when the NPP introduced a law to disband vigilante groups. I questioned that decision and asked why the NPP was behaving like children. Does the NPP have more strength than the NDC?” he asked.
He further revealed that had the groups remained intact, they would have made him their patron due to his supportive relationship with them.
“A time came, if the government had not disbanded Delta Force and Invisible Force, they would have made me their patron because I related to them, recognised them, and addressed their concerns,” he noted.
Lawyer Nana Obiri Boahen, a former Deputy General Secretary of the NPP on disband of the NPP Vigilante boys and Akwatia by-election. Something to PONDER NDC 👂. pic.twitter.com/Pt8heG55g4
— Aristotlektv (@aristotledada) July 12, 2025
