General News of 2013-03-19

NPP must surrender Bawumia's car for investigation - Police

ASP Ebenezer Tetteh has said the Northern Police Command has called on the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to release the vehicle of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia involved in the accident on Sunday to enable them investigate the cause of the crash.
According to the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Northern Regional Police Command: “The police got to the scene later when the victims and vehicle had been taken away…the exact location of the vehicle is unknown."
He further stated: “because the vehicle has been involved in an accident, we need it to help facilitate investigations… the victims also need to come forward and give us the necessary information that we need to hasten investigation so we will be able to conclude whether it was a mechanical error or a human fault."
Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the 2012 Vice Presidential Candidate of NPP, was involved in a road accident on the Bole Bamboi road in the Northern Region.
Dr Bawumia left Bole in the Northern region for the Ashanti Region when two of the tyres of the vehicle he was travelling in exploded 15 minutes into the journey resulting in the accident. The vehicle somersaulted and veered off the road, rolling over a few times.
ASP Tetteh said since the accident occurred in the jurisdiction of the Northern region; they were obligated to take charge of the investigation. “The matter has been taken over fully by the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU),” he stated.
The NPP has taken charge of the damaged vehicle because according to the Party’s general secretary Owusu Afriyie, they do not believe in the Police and will therefore want to conduct their own investigations.
But ASP Tetteh says the police will “try and speak to them [NPP] to cooperate with us in whatever way they can so that we can all do a very formal investigation".