Government accused of giving more priority to Canadian girls than Takoradi girls

Security Analyst Colonel Festus Aboagye has accused government of dealing with the kidnapping of some two Canadian girls more proactively than that of the three kidnapped in Takoradi.

According to him, inasmuch as the two kidnap cases are not the same, the speed and manner in which government dealt with the case of the Canadian girls as against that of the Takoradi girls is worrying.

The two Canadian girls who were kidnapped on June 4, 2019, in Kumasi were rescued a little over a week after the incident.

The issue generated a lot of public discourse with many people accusing government of not prioritizing the life of the Takoradi girls, who have gone missing for close to a year.

Speaking on the issue on TV3‘s The Key Points on Saturday, Colonel (rtd) Aboagye said government has not managed the kidnapping of the Takoradi girls well enough.

He said government together with security agencies has not done enough to rescue the kidnapped Takoradi girls.

“What to me is worrisome, or probably where the debate should be is the management of the two incidents of kidnapping.

“On one hand, we saw a lot more proactivity with regard to the Canadian girls, but with the case of our own girls, we need to admit and that is why I get a bit worried when consistently certain segments of society turn to suggest that they have done the best, we have not done the best,” he lamented.

Colonel Aboagye said the police failed in ensuring that the kidnappers of the Takoradi girls were dealt with properly.

“We bundled and botched the operation right from the beginning giving the fact that we allowed the suspects to break jail for quite a number of days, and as a result compromised all the evidence that the police could have used to be on the tracks of those kidnappers.”

Gagged police force

Colonel Aboagye further alleged that the police is being gagged by government from speaking on the kidnapping cases in the country, a situation he considers worrying.

“I get the sense that the police is being gagged,” he stressed.

“In the case of the Canadian girls, we have the Minister of Information as soon as the operation was over, to tell us what has happened, did we see the same thing with the Takoradi girls?” he quizzed.

He said when the Information Minister was addressing the media after the Canadian girls were rescued, the CID boss was present but was not allowed to speak to issues.

He said government is picking and choosing the degree of importance that ought to be attached to kidnap cases, and that they did more for the kidnapped Canadian girls.

Colonel Aboagye underscored the need for government to come up with a “concrete comprehensive strategy to address issues”, and move away from engaging in talks and promises only.

He said there is the need for a proper strategy to be developed to fight counter-terrorism and other crimes just like it has been done in more advanced countries.