Security consultant calls for Anti-Kidnapping Agency

A private Security and Safety Consultant, Mr. Isaac Ayitey, has called on government to as a matter of urgency establish an Anti-Kidnapping Agency to deal with the rising trend of kidnappings in the country.

According to him, the recent increasing cases of kidnappings should be a wakeup call for the country to find ways of curbing such incidents which were experienced some years back within Nigeria’s oil state, Niger Delta.

Speaking to The Chronicle in Sunyani on Sunday, Mr. Ayitey observed the Ghana Police Service alone cannot deal with issues on kidnappings, the reason for which a special agency with sole mandate of addressing kidnapping issues should be established.

“Recently cases of kidnapping are increasing in the country and as a security person, my observation is the police alone may not be in a apposition to adequately deal with the phenomenon”, he said.

The security and safety consultant added that a special agency made up of professionals in security matters and other relevant professionals would be ideal in the face of the rising trend of kidnappings in the country.

“It would be very ideal to constitute a special agency of security and other relevant professionals to specifically deal with kidnappings in the country”, Mr. Ayitey said.

He further suggested that such a special anti-kidnapping agency should be allowed to train other specialists on the job to enable them effectively deliver on their mandate.

“If such a special anti-kidnapping is set up, the state can resource it to train other specialists as part of efforts to enable it execute its mandate effectively”, he explained.

Mr. Ayitey said the proposed agency would aside dealing with kidnappings, also tackle hostage incidence.

He expressed concern over the kidnapping of foreign nationals which potentially can derail foreign investments in country. According to him, Ghana has for a long time been the preferred choice for business investments but if the issue of foreigners being kidnapped is not properly handled, that confidence in Ghana as a business destination would be eroded.

It would be recalled that the 30-year-old Indian businessman, Umpakan Chodri who was kidnapped in Kumasi last Thursday night was rescued by the police after close to 18-hours in captivity.

Police sources had earlier revealed that three unidentified men onboard an unregistered Toyota Salon vehicle at gunpoint forced the victim who was driving a black, Mazda CX-7 with registration number AS 5442-17, into their vehicle at Ahodwo Kumasi and sped off.

They reportedly called his relation, Tamil Kumar who is a businessman demanding a $500,000 ransom for his release warning him not to involve the police and sent images of a gun pointed at him with his hands tied to his back.

Sekondi-Takoradi has been rocked with reports of kidnappings over the last few months.

Between August of 2018 and January 2019, reports have been made of about five kidnappings involving about five young women.

There have been reports that some people in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis are protesting the insecurity they are feeling.

Recently, a suspect, Nigerian Sam Udoetuk Wills, was re-arrested after breaking out of police custody. However, none of the people he is thought to have kidnapped have been found.

TAKORADI MISSING GIRLS

The Police administration has denied reports that the three missing Takoradi girls have been rescued.

Earlier, there were reports that the girls had been found and were receiving medical treatment at an unnamed health facility in Accra.

The report attributed its story to sources whom, according to them, indicated that the girls have been brought to Accra. But the police later said the report is false.

Then, families of the missing girls questioned why the police failed to disclose the information to them before going public.

In the face of all these, Mr. Ayitey believes an anti-kidnapping agency would help address kidnappings in the country.