Plot to remove IGP: 'Atta Akyea has his own agenda; committee report unanimous' - Dampare's lawyer

The lead counsel for the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo-Dampare, during the probe of a leaked tape of an alleged plot to remove the IGP; lawyer Kwame Gyan, has accused the chairman of the parliamentary committee that sat on the matter of being biased.

According to him, the chairman of the committee, Samuel Atta Akyea, who should remain neutral, has shown his biases and has his own agenda.

The private legal practitioner said that Atta Akyea's, actions following the leakage of the committee's report are evidence of his suspicion that the committee chair is partial.

He added that IGP Dampare has been vindicated and that any attempts by the chairman to tarnish his reputation will not succeed, myjoyonline.com reports.

"What has happened has fully confirmed our nightmare that the chairman had his own agenda and he was on a frolic of his own way outside of the remit of the committee and we have been vindicated.'

"We have been in the practice of the house for long. The chairman appointed by the Speaker had no original vote. So, Atta Akyea's vote is only a casting vote if there was a tie and there wasn't. So far as we are concerned, this report is a unanimous report," he is quoted to have said.

The leaked report of the committee was signed by the seven members of the committee; however, the chairman of the committee did not sign it.

It has emerged that the members of the committee are at loggerheads over the final report from their investigations.

A report by myjoyonline indicates that Samuel Atta Akyea, the chairman of the committee, has disowned the report, which has been widely circulated on various media platforms in recent weeks.

According to the report, Atta Akyea, who is also the Member of Parliament for the Abuakwa South constituency, has denied knowledge of the report, indicating that the report submitted to Parliament does not bear his signature.

Samuel Atta Akyea's decision not to sign off on the report is reportedly due to reservations he has about the conclusions reached by the committee and the refusal by other members of the committee to concur with his motion for the invitation of more witnesses to substantiate some claims made against Dr. Dampare.

One particular case, which, per the report, was of utmost importance to Samuel Atta Akyea, is the supposed extrajudicial killings supervised by the IGP, Dr. Dampare.

In furtherance of his disapproval, Samuel Atta Akyea is reportedly preparing to present a report exclusive of the widely circulated one, during which he will make known his reservations.

Owing to this standoff between Samuel Atta Akyea and other committee members, the Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh Dompreh, was stopped in his tracks on June 18, 2024, as he sought the permission of the 2nd Deputy Speaker to lay the report.

The decision was due to the fact that Annoh Dompreh did not have the approval of Samuel Atta Akyea to lay the report before the house. Kennedy Agyapong, however, was granted permission by Atta Akyea to lay the report on his behalf at a later date.

Meanwhile, excerpts of the report sighted by GhanaWeb indicate that two of the officers, Superintendent George Lysander Asare and Superintendent Emmanuel Gyebi, lied under oath during their testimony before the committee.

The committee found the officers in contempt of Parliament under Order 30 of the Standing Orders of Parliament (2000) as revised by Order 31 (f) of the Standing Orders of Parliament (2024).

BAI/NOQ



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