TECHIMAN, Ghana — The staff at the Abrafi Women and Children's Hospital in Techiman knew their Senior Nursing Officer would always show up before the morning huddle, but as Monday, September 14, 2026, ticked around, Salomey Awiti Baffoe, aged 40, failed to show.
In the early hours of Sunday, September 13, between 10 p.m. and midnight, three people, all in black, arrived at the nurse's residence in Hansua, a settlement on the outskirts of Techiman in the Bono East Region, claiming to be National Security agents and said they were taking Ms. Salomey Baffoe to the regional command with them.
Her younger brother, Antwi Francis, was asked what his sister had done by the masked men, and he was instructed to sit and stay mum.
He watched his sister walk out of the house and into the night with the three agents and has not seen her since.
More than 48 hours after her abduction, Salomey Baffoe, a mother of three sons, has seemingly disappeared, and the agencies tasked with protecting and upholding the law have no knowledge of her whereabouts.
A Call, an Accusation, a Case of Mistaken Identity
The reason why Salomey Baffoe was taken appears to be connected to a mysterious 24-hour call, which took place the morning after her disappearance.
According to the family, a man who introduced himself as a National Security agent from Kintampo South called Salomey's mother, Madam Esther Owusu Ansah, to tell her that she was the mother of "Ghana Jollof," an anonymous social media user who has been criticizing President John Mahama and First Lady Lordina Mahama extensively.
The officers allegedly visited the family in Jema, where Ms. Owusu Ansah resides, to accuse them.
"I am not Ghana Jollof. My daughter is not Ghana Jollof," the mother said, sobbing, in a desperate call to President Mahama. "Please, President Mahama, I beg you to help me. I don't know where my daughter is".
The family has consistently stated that they have no connection to the social media abuser.
Abraham Owusu Ansah, the family's spokesman, pointed out that while the First Lady hailed from Jema in the Kintampo South Constituency, like the family, none of its members was in any way shape or form involved with or connected to the online prankster.
"We are from Jema. The First Lady is also from Jema. But that does not make us our sister Ghana Jollof," he said. "Salomey is a Nurse who works at Abrafi Children's Hospital. She is a mother of three. No member of our family is trained to insult the elderly. The allegations against her cannot be true".
A co-worker described her as a down-to-earth individual who, apart from using WhatsApp to sell her wares, was not involved in politics in any capacity.
Her husband is said to be overseas.
State's Silence
What makes this development frightening is the silence that has followed from the very agencies that were involved in the purported abduction of the nursing professional.
When the Ghana news and media outlets contacted the Bono East Regional Police Command on Monday and Tuesday, they were told that the police had no record of her arrest.
Senior police officials said they had not detained the woman, and the regional National Security agents said they had nothing to do with the case.
The former Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) office in Techiman had no information on the abduction, either.
The family is yet to determine Salomey Baffoe's fate and location as she remains missing.
The family has learned from inquiries that she might have been taken to the National Security agency headquarters in Accra, a drive from Techiman that would take approximately nine hours.
"This Is an Abduction"
Lawyer Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, Member of Parliament for Manyhia South, called for action after pressing charges against state security agencies for not revealing the location of the detained woman.
"If, up to this point, no one knows the whereabouts of the woman or where she is being held, then it is no longer simply a matter of arrest but could amount to abduction by state security agencies," he said in a press statement on Tuesday, September 15.
Mr. Awuah accused the Signals Bureau of traveling from Accra to Techiman to arrest the nursing professional as part of its "Jollof" sweep and taking her back to the capital without informing her family and lawyers.
The MP noted that Ms. Baffoe's youngest child was about five years old, and her children were grieving and in search of their mother.
According to the 1992 Constitution, all persons arrested and detained must be informed of the nature of the accusation against them immediately and must be granted access to legal counsel.
The arrested person must be brought before a court of law within 48 hours of arrest.
A Pattern of Paranoia
The arrest and subsequent alleged abduction of Salomey Baffoe come as the government has cracked down on dissenting and critical voices, particularly those who use social media to criticize the ruling Party.
A certain Afia Royal was recently arrested in connection with the "Ghana Jollof" case after security agencies accused her of being "Ghana Jollof" and withholding information on her location.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has massed at the gates of government in protest of what it calls a malicious campaign to silence free speech by jailing dissenting social media users.
Notably, the "Ghana Jollof" account has continued to expose and condemn the First Lady and President even after the alleged abduction of Salomey Baffoe.
This has prompted senior NPP figures, including Haruna Mohammed, to accuse the government of kidnapping the wrong person.
It is a matter of observation that the Ghana Jollof series is a reaction to the anti-government social media campaign by Kevin Taylor, a resident of the United States and a supporter of the National Democratic Congress.
The body of "Ghana Jollof" has been a go-to platform for both sides of the political spectrum to hurl insults at each other, with the balance only beginning to tilt in favor of the Ghanaian abuser. However, the devastating effects of the mudslinging, at least for those caught in the crossfire, are visible for all to see.
A Family in Limbo
The distraught Baffoe family has called a press conference and asked the Presidency, the Inspector General of Police, and the public for assistance after more than 48 hours of their daughter's disappearance.
All they want is information regarding her whereabouts and condition and for her to be freed if she is not guilty of any crime.
"Our daughter is not 'Ghana Jollof' and has nothing to do with political commentary on social media," Owusu Ansah said. "We are calling on the President to intervene. We are calling on the Inspector General of Police to intervene. We are calling on all well-meaning Ghanaians to help us find Salomey".
As of Wednesday evening, September 16, the family's desperate pleas had gone unanswered.
Source; Theghanareport.com
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