It is bad news that the national headquarters of police in Ghana seems to become the seat of lawless unprofessional conduct. Those at the top seem to tell citizens frequently that they have not been working hard to correct and stop this conduct the lower levels of the service.
This is conduct which is rife especially among officers in towns and villages is always blamed on poorly trained and ignorant officers.
But there is sufficient evidence that some well-trained and top officers are equally guilty.
The treatment of the so called Bishop Angel, who claims soon to attain the status of god, superintended at the very top of the service, I am afraid, will only embolden bad officers to continue to abuse the rights of the tax payer who gets them fed, clothed and sheltered etc in return for professional services.
Why do you handcuff people who honour your invitation “to assist investigations into complaints of criminal conduct”?
Why do you handcuff especially people like Obinim – as if as the law requires he was caught him in the act – a man who very obviously isn’t a flight risk. And how do you explain his detention knowing very well that he would be available at your next invitation?
Well, someone has to tell you you acted terribly in utmost bad faith and were at your height of unprofessional conduct, showing bad example to other officers who may be so minded.
You know your invitation is neither a warrant nor a subpoena and citizens are under no obligation to honour them. This is clearly and rightly affirmed by our courts, and the cases of Ampofo and Asante against the State instruct citizens to decline such invitations in appropriate circumstances, and to resist unlawful arrests in self-defence even in justified assault of an officer for trespass or for assault by imprisonment.
You certainly know that a decision not to honour such invitation is a clear indication of one’s preference and counter-invitation to you to arrest them instead. They know this is only time they can assert their Miranda rights to be informed in a language they understand of the reason for arrest, their right not to self-incriminate or speak during the arrest, and their right to a lawyer of their choice.
Explain to Ghanaians that you really did your job of even casual preliminary investigations of this anaemic complaint of fraud before doing what you did and clearly using bail as punishment contrary to law. The complainant’s letter doesn’t mention this eleven million cedis gold proceeds. But did you find out the source of the said gold? Under what license it was obtained, who assessed it, who bought it, any receipts and evidence of the cash having been given to Obinim?
I tell a short story to end my disappointment of this kind of conduct perpetrated on a daily basis by bad nuts within the service against poor citizens.
They picked up a client and locked him up overnight. He gave his statement. They realized they had messed up, or did they? They granted bail, and then requested him to supply some documents regarding the matter for them to settle without prosecution, or they knew there was nothing to prosecute?
It is about purchase of a house. Complainant claimed he had paid but accused was not giving up possession. Complainant didn’t provide a single paper, not even evidence of the payment. I advised accused not to supply a single document because we are ready for trial, and he is not under obligation to help police with their inquiries. They haven’t taken the matter to court.
They still call the accused all the time with some veiled threats to come for settlement. We repeat to them we are not interested in a settlement or one led by them. The officer is still eager and pushing. I have a question for this enthusiastic officer at the Accra regional command and I will ask her soon.
Let all especially those brave a highly professional police officers, I have encountered a good number of them, and the leaders rise up to redeem the image of this noble and critical service.
The politicians who are criticizing Obinim’s supporters for massing up at the police station and at court, a big shame on you.
Your sacrilegious mobilization for reckless parochial political purposes of the blood curdling screams by rampaging jobless brainwashed foot-soldiers at the courts and police stations is to blame.
Your actions that seek to compromise the rule of law will soon catch up with you.
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