Police Action Disturbing - Okudzeto

The Chairman of the Commission of Enquiry into the Accra Sports Stadium tragedy, Mr Sam Okudzeto, has described the action of the Police Administration to recall the six police officers indicted by the commission’s report as disturbing as far as delivery of justice is concerned.

He said he is disappointed and angry at the turn of events “because it means our efforts were wasted”. He noted however that he is not surprised at the decision since the initial police investigation into the tragedy strangely failed to find anyone culpable. Mr. Okudzeto said it is strange that the initial police report did not even find it professionally appropriate to indict the officers who failed to keep records of weapons used in an operation or even identify who ordered the shooting. He was speaking in an interview in Accra on Friday in reaction to the recall of the six police officers by the Police Administration.

They are Chief Superintendent of Police Mr Koranteng Mintah; Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mr Frank Awuah, ASP Fakye Kumi, ASP B.B. Bakomora, ASP John Naami and ASP Frank Aryee.

Mr Okudzeto said the recall goes to buttress his earlier fears that the Police Administration was prepared to cover up the professional inefficiency of its officers.

He said from the report of the Police Administration’s own internal investigation, it was clear that the officers were bound to be recalled, since nothing culpable was found against them. “The police investigation was shoddy; otherwise, the officers would have at least been demoted because the evidence was overwhelming against them”, he added. Mr. Okudzeto said even if the police officers were not criminally negligent, they were negligent of their professional duties.

He explained that records at the Police Armoury indicate that the policemen were issued with ammunition but did not indicate the type of ammunition. He said even if the type of ammunition was not indicated, it was important that they returned the unused ammunition, which was not complied with as contained in police regulations. Mr. Okudzeto also noted that the separation of the police from the office of the Attorney-General (AG), in terms of ministerial reporting relationship, is a drawback to the delivery of justice. He said in most parts of the world, the police and the AG’s Department work under one ministry since the AG depends on the police for quick investigations to facilitate early prosecution. According to Mr Okudzeto, since the AG’s Department will rely on the police to conduct further investigations prior to prosecution, the police can frustrate the AG’s office.

Moreover, he said, the commission did not have enough time to do a thorough investigation to expose all the issues to facilitate prosecution. Mr. Okudzeto said he believes strongly that the Police Administration wants to protect the officers and cautioned that “such a move does not augur well for the administration of justice”. When his attention was drawn to the fact that the Attorney-General has given the assurance that the police officers will be prosecuted, he asked why the AG’s Department has been unable to prosecute the officers almost a year after the report had been made public. “The police can frustrate the AG’s office in its quest for prosecution,” he said.