CID Invites Editors Over IGP Dismissal Story

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service has invited news editors of three radio stations to come and assist in investigations into the recent reports that the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Paul Tawiah Quaye, had been relieved of his post.

The News Editors of Peace FM, Adom FM and Oman FM have been asked to report to the Vetting and Crime Analysis (VCA) Unit of the CID headquarters which has been charged with the task of investigating the story.

The officer handling the case is Chief Superintendent Dennis Abade.

The story is said to have ruffled the Police Administration and the government so badly that the ongoing investigations is not surprising.

In a correspondence to the affected persons and signed by Frank Coffie, Director of Operations at the CID headquarters, it states that “the CID is investigating a case of publication of false information on the dismissal of the IGP aired on the 8th March 2012. It will be appreciated if you release the news editor of Peace FM to report to the C/Supt/ VCA CID Hqts at Room 13, 4th floor at 9am to assist investigations. Signed Frank Coffie, Director, Operations.”

There has been a lot of executive interference in the day-to-day running of the Police Service, climaxing with a recent promotions exercise where seniors officers were skipped by orders from the Castle, the seat of government.

Speaking to DAILY GUIDE yesterday on the development, Alhaji Isa Monnie, News Editor of Peace FM, said before putting out the story, “we reached out to the Acting Director of Public Affairs of the Police Service who denied that his boss had been booted out, a version we incorporated in the bulletin which followed”.

News about the IGP’s dismissal gained currency in the evening of Thursday, with editors and news editors of newspapers wondering whether to publish or not.

The Police Administration, in the light of what was carried by the radio stations, issued a statement denying that the Chief Constable had been relieved of his post.

The statement explained the implication of such stories and counseled that similar issues be managed with circumspection.

Coming immediately on the heels of the story was the movement of some top police officers, a development which saw the Greater Accra Regional Police Commander moving to the Police Headquarters as the Director General, Administration and her place taken by DCOP Patrick Timbilla.

The news editors, it is expected, would be made to write statements regarding the story, a police routine investigation procedure, or even asked to disclose the source of the information- something they would not do anyway.

The IGP would show keen interest in how this case unfolds but it is doubtful whether something substantial would come out of it. Perhaps, it would join the many unfinished cases and therefore confined to the shelves.