Mohammed Amadou Zakou, a social activist affiliated with the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has been detained by the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) for allegedly spreading false information about Vice President Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang on social media.
On April 4, 2025, at approximately 4:00 am, Zakou made a Facebook post featuring a photo of Prof Opoku-Agyemang, accompanied by the caption, ‘Rest well, Your Excellency,’ along with crying emojis, suggesting sorrow and implying what many have termed her demise.
His post came six days after an official government statement announced that the vice president had received medical treatment at the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) following a sudden illness on Friday, March 28, 2025.
The communiqué further indicated that, based on medical advice, the vice president would seek additional treatment abroad to ensure a full recovery.
His post drew widespread backlash from other Facebook users, who condemned him for making such a reckless statement about the vice president.
Many criticised him for spreading false information and deliberately misleading the public.
Despite the backlash, Zakou has not retracted his post, which remains visible on his Facebook page.
In connection with the incident, Zakou was reportedly picked up by the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) over the weekend for interrogation and remains in their custody.
However, his arrest has been met with condemnation, particularly from members of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), some of whom have downplayed Zakou’s actions, arguing that they do not warrant an arrest.
What some NPP members have said:
John Boadu
One of the prominent figures within the party who has condemned the arrest and called for Zakou’s immediate release is the former General Secretary of the NPP, John Boadu.
According to him, Zakou’s actions did not warrant an arrest, describing the post as ‘a usual banter by the youth on Facebook, which they have taken as seriously as a World Cup.’
Alongside other NPP executives from the Greater Accra Region, he has called for Zakou’s immediate release, accusing the government of using state institutions as tools to suppress citizens’ freedom of speech and erode the country’s democratic principles — an act he asserted the NPP will vehemently resist.
“They claim he said something on Facebook; a platform these young guys use to play around is what these people have taken as World Cup. Whether they like it or not, after 48 hours, they will have to release him and we will be there,” he said.
Boadu added that the NPP will not remain aloof and allow state institutions to be used as tools to intimidate its members or prevent them from expressing themselves freely.
“Is this what we fought for the country? We are not going to sit back and allow security agencies ordered by the president to be intimidating our people. People have said worse things and they are walking freely,” John Boadu said in an interview with UTV.
Kwame Baffoe
The Bono Regional Chairman of the NPP, Kwame Baffoe, popularly known as Abronye DC, has also criticised the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), arguing that the phrase ‘rest well’ does not necessarily imply or confirm someone’s demise.
Reacting to Zakou’s arrest in a Facebook post on April 12, 2025, Abronye wrote, ‘Eiiiii @NIB, so you’re telling us that the expression ‘Rest Well’ means death or someone is dead? Eiiiii mo te brofo ampa,’ — a comment which loosely translates to, ‘You really understand English to an extreme extent,’ in a sarcastic tone.”
His statement was aimed at questioning the NIB’s interpretation of Zakou’s post and further criticising what he viewed as an overreach.
PK Sarpong
Also a member of the NPP, PK Sarpong condemned the NIB’s actions, accusing the bureau of being ‘deficient in the Queen’s Language.’
In a Facebook post, he explained that Zakou allegedly told him the phrase ‘rest well’ was intended to wish the vice president a speedy recovery, thereby defending the activist’s actions and questioning the basis for his arrest.
“It is more than embarrassing how the REST WELL post made by an NPP activist could lead to his arrest. It only goes to show that those who effected the arrest and their enablers are very deficient in the Queen’s Language.
“REST WELL doesn’t have a single interpretation. It is ambiguous. To take one meaning without the other depicts the poverty of their knowledge in English. Of course, REST WELL can be used for a dearly departed person, but it can also be used to wish someone who maybe suffering from an ailment or sickness well,” he posted on Facebook on Monday, April 14, 2025.
He added; “The gentleman says his post was to wish Vice President Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang well and a quick recovery. This, therefore, doesn’t call for his arrest. He only wished the Veep well as she is resting in the UK. They should let him go home.”
MAG/AE
Meanwhile, catch up on the concluding part of the story of Fort William, where children were sold in exchange for kitchenware, others, below: