Blame police for forceful seizure of public assets – Kwesi Pratt

Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper Kwesi Pratt has blamed the police service for the incessant attacks on persons allegedly in possession of some state assets.

According to him, failure on the part of the police to act and prosecute persons engaged in these acts from the onset is the reason they still persist.

Speaking on Radio Gold’s news analysis program Alhaji and Alhaji Saturday, Mr. Pratt cited several instances where some individuals including police personnel were attacked and their properties seized in the name of “claiming back state assets”; the latest being the seizure of some 5 cars from the residence of the NDC’s National Organizer, kofi Adams.

He recounted a similar incident where the Former Minister for sports Nii Lante Vanderpauye had his car which contained his children seized. He also cited instances where the National Security flats, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authourity (GPHA) and some toll booths in parts of the country were besieged.

Mr. Pratt insisted that these rampaging acts and raids will not have continued if the police service took immediate steps to arrest and take action against these invisible forces when the acts were perpetrated.

“it is amazing that a police officer is attacked and brutalized in the course of his duty by civilian gangs and nothing happens, a video is available, nothing happens, the people responsible for the act can be identified and nothing happens, now if the police cannot protect their own, how can they protect us?...the police ought to have acted and the police service declined to act and because they didn’t act in that first instance, it is spreading” he said.

Kwesi Pratt expressed surprise at the inability of NPP leaders to stop these forces despite their condemnation of the attacks and calls for the arrest of such persons.

He added that the situation might worsen and lives may be lost if prompt action is not taken to end this.