Stop it! - Adom-Otchere cautions Dampare over allegations of elite force within police

Paul Adom-Otchere, host of Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana programme has alleged the creation of an elite force within the Ghana Police Service citing unnamed informants within the service.

The journalist said he had been given insider details about the said elite group, embedded in the Police Intelligence Department (PID), that allegedly reports strictly to the Inspector-General of Police, George Akuffo Dampare.

Adom-Otchere stressed that if indeed the elite force did exist as alleged, it must be disbanded immediately because of the potential repercussions that could arise from having such a force in operation.

“The PID is being used by Dr. Dampare allegedly to empower a certain elite police group and they do anything and nobody can talk to them and they talk only to the IGP,” he stated on the July 13 edition of his show.

He cited the instance of a reported habeas corpus application against the police in the Northern Region over the reported killing of five young men in November 2022 as the handiwork reportedly of the "elite force" before expressing concerns over Dampare having centralized police communications nationwide.

On the viral leaked tape seeking Dampare’s removal, Adom-Otchere said the president supports Dampare and would not change him.

“Nobody wants to change Dr. Dampare even Akufo-Addo will not. When his MPs said change Ken Ofori-Atta did he change him? We are still here. Ken Ofori-Atta has won a major success by delivering the IMF, nobody is going to change him,” he added.

Adom-Otchere called on the powers that be to probe the allegation.

“When I hear that an IGP is creating an elite group in the police, I know that it is particularly wrong and the Ministry of Interior, the Office of the President should not countenance that. The police are the police, every police officer is a police officer, let’s not create any anything,” he stressed.

He cited the Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah’s own guard led by General Bawa and 64 Infantry Battalion of JJ Rawlings era as special forces that have historically been threats to the regular armies.

“We shouldn’t have a PID that feels better than another police man. That is so dangerous and this is what we are hearing that is happening in the police,” he added.

SARA

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