Police informants face death threats

Police informants, whose vital information led to the arrest and imprisonment of a 19-year old notorious armed robber at Abor in the Keta Municipal Assembly of the Volta Region, have expressed fear over death threats from the culprit’s family.

The police administration has always claimed lack of information was hindering their effort to rid society of criminal elements, and has sometimes offered juicy packages to attract information from the general public. But it appears that the police administration is not ready to honour their promise and are releasing details of their informants, thus putting them in harm’s way.

The informants told The Herald that after their information led to the arrest of Ebenezer Nyagbezi, popularly known as Pasango, from Avenorpedo, near Abor; who had escaped cells at the Tema Fishing Habour Police Station on Saturday, February 23, 2013, they have been denied a reward promised them by the Police.

According to the informants, the family of Ebenezer Nyagbedzi Pasango, especially, his brother known as Papa, after the arrest of Ebenezer, has been threatening to kill them for informing the police about the whereabouts of his brother.

They have, therefore, expressed resentment about the manner in which the Tema Regional Police Command have handled what they describe as “suicidal” over the past months and putting their lives at a greater risk.

“We can’t go out or sleep as a result of this”, they expressed.

Explaining further to this paper, the informants said, following information by the Daily Guide’s Wednesday February 27, 2013 publication captioned, “¢200M FOR JAIL BREAKERS” as a reward for anyone who offered information that would lead to the arrest of any of the three suspected robbers, Eliasu Mohammed, 20, scrap dealer; and Daniel Kwame Kumi, 20, mechanic apprentice, were the two accomplices, so they followed suit hoping to be rewarded.

They said the Police at the Tema Fishing Habour had been ordered to produce the three suspects in 10 days after they escaped from cells on their return from the Police Hospital in Accra as they were said to have initially feigned illness.

The Tema Regional Police Assistant Public Relations Officer (PRO), Joseph Barabu, was said to have announced in a publication, appealing to members of the general public to urgently assist them with information to the whereabouts of the suspects, who broke jail through the roof of the Police Cells.

The suspects had cut the burglar proof ceiling with equipment suspected to be hacksaw blade, smuggled into the Police cells by Ebenezer’s girl lover, who had hidden the hacksaw in a loaf of bread.

Chief Inspector Joseph Barabu had, at the time, assured the public that the Police reward system was in force and that anyone who assisted them to arrest the escapees or any other run-away criminal would be adequately rewarded.

He gave the contact numbers as: 0303-202936; 0303-202937, and Crime Fighters MNT/Vodafone Short Code 18555, for members of the public to reach them, or report to the nearest police station.

The police informants, who knew Ebenezer (suspect) since childhood, gave out information to the police, leading to the arrest of Pasango.

In an interview with Chief Inspector Ahedor on the phone, he admitted that the informants’ information after Daily Guide’s publication, resulted in the arrest of Ebenezer.

This was after another foiled robbery operation at Penyi, a suburb of Dzodze, by the Dzodze Divisional Police Command in the Volta Region.

Since that time, according to the informants, neither Chief Inspector Ahedor nor Mr. Barabu, has said anything about the police reward. But Chief Inspector Ahedor blamed his subordinate Mr. Barabu for not following up on the necessary procedures to have the informants given their package.

The police had earlier organized an unprofessional identification exercise in the Dzodze Divisional Police Command, where the suspect clearly had contact with the informants and got to know that they were the ones who had provided information to the security agencies.

Meanwhile, the Tema Circuit Court “B” presided over by His Lordship, Bart Plange-Brew, sentenced Ebenezer, a tailor by profession, to a 36-month jail term after he had pleaded guilty to the charge of escaping lawful police custody on Monday, May 20, 2013.

They, therefore, humbly appealed to the acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan, and the top hierarchy of the security services to come to their aid by protecting them from Ebenezer’s marauding family as a matter of urgency, and also get the reward promised them duly settled.