Police cells for rent at Sogakope

Investigations conducted by Amansan Television (ATV) have revealed that police cells under the Sogakope District Command of the Ghana Police Service are being rented to inmates.

According to a deep throat source at the place “any suspect who finds himself or herself in any of the police cells in the Sogakope district in the Volta Region, allegedly, pays GH¢50 as cell-user-fee for an unspecific period, without any official receipt covering the payment”.

A victim, (name withheld) who was on Tuesday, June 5, 2018 arrested by the police in the area was alleged to have paid the cell-user-fee under duress without any receipt.

According to the victim, when he objected to the payment, the police forced him to empty all his pockets, and in the process they found, Gh¢10 which they (police) took from him as part payment for the space he was occupying in the police cell.

Some inmates who shared their ordeals with ATV in an interview said, “failure to pay the cell-user-fee will leave the police with no other option than to brutalise and harass you until you pay”.

When ATV contacted the station officer at Sogakope police station, Chief Inspector Frank Dzachie, for confirmation or otherwise of the allegations he denied everything.

But, his superior, the District Commander at the station, DSP Michael Zah, explained that the cell-user-fee was instituted to raise funds for the station so as to help in the day-to-day administration of the place.

Meanwhile, the Police Intelligence and Professionalism Standard Bureau (PIPS) has officially launched investigations into the matter.