Family of a 14-year-old Yemeni who was allegedly sexually abused by her 'grandfather' has pointed accusing fingers at the Ghana Police Service for dragging their feet in ensuring the perpetrator is brought to book.
The family claim almost a year since the incident occurred they have been on the heels of the Police to try to get them to take some actions but all have proved futile.
Addressing the media at the Accra International Press Center on Tuesday, Lawyer for the family who spoke on their behalf, Justice Abdulai, explained that despite several meetings with the police CID and DOVVSU offices at the Police Headquarters in Accra, the best the Service has done is to give the family hope of going court soon.
Justice Abdulai also alleged that accused sexual assaulter has managed to compromise the Police Service such that he is informed about every single move of the police with regards to his case.
"From December 2017, we have been pursuing justice for Anood Jibril Alsalmi and to date, justice seems to be quite elusive. No single administration of the police or any of our prosecutorial agencies have taken any step to ensure that this matter is prosecuted. Indeed together with the family, we have spearheaded the search for evidence and we have provided all the evidence that is needed or required to ensure a successful prosecution because believe you me if you go to the police they will tell you that until you have prima facie case they are not prosecuting"
Giving a blow-by-blow account of all that has transpired since December last year when the lady was defiled, lawyer for the family said the alleged assaulter was a long distant relative who was considered a 'grandfather' to the girl and used to often pick her up to school and back home when she closes.
It was on the back of this that he picked her up in the guise of taking her to school and defiled her at a yet-to-be-known location.
The matter according to the lawyer was reported to the Kwabenya Police Station who then forwarded to the Madina Police Station for lack of capacity to deal with the matter.
The family claim that the Madina Police Station after arresting the suspect made him go on bail with his wife as the only surety making them believe there were some underhand dealings prior to his release.
"By virtue of that, this grandfather meeting Jibril Aslami Anood invited her to drop her at school. Willingly she accepted the invitation of the grandfather and on their way to school she ended up somewhere else that she cannot disclose till date. Having reached the destination she was drugged and assaulted by her grandfather after which she was made to do some unspeakable things while unconscious. The chilling story of this whole drama is that she managed to in severe pain and the most agony return home" Justice Abdulai told the press.
According to the family, they fear the inaction of the police may result in them losing their lives as the suspected sexual abuser has on several occasions threatened their lives.
Justice Abdulai suggests that the so-called grandfather has sent them videos and threats and on one occasion physically assaulted the family at Airport, a case that has since failed to see the light of day in court.
The family alleges that the suspect has managed to smuggle into the country ammunition that they claim has been confirmed to be the preserve of the military in the country by the CID of the Ghana Police Service.
They maintain that this has implications for the security of the nation and lives of the citizenry as this could be a tip of some unhidden agenda particularly because of the country of origin of the suspect.
The family lawyer detailed, "don't ever mistakenly think that this is somewhere in a war-torn country. This is Ghana, this is at Spintex. If you have any doubt see the vehicle number plates behind. This is not Afghanistan and definitely not Yemen and neither is it any other war-torn country. And our fears are that not only are we in threat for seeking justice Anoud Jibril Yussif Alsalami, but the entire security of this nation is at the crossroad because of the conduct and the kinds of machine guns these people have succeeded in bringing into our country. Now the pathetic part is that these same people have succeeded in compromising our police administration"
The alleged rape incident occurred in December 2017 and the family say they do not want to be known to the public because of the risk involved.
The defiled lady who was 14 years old at the time is currently receiving treatment as it has been reported that she suffered some trauma from the incident
The suspect is believed to be about 60 years old.
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