Stop the deceit - Families of kidnapped Takoradi girls descend on Police Service

The families of Priscilla Bentum, Priscilla Mantebea Koranchie and Ruth Love Quayson, three girls who were kidnapped in Takoradi almost a year ago have lashed out at the Police Service over their inconsistent communication regarding the whereabouts of the girls, ABC News can report.

The families also accuse the Police of deliberately feeding the media with inaccurate information.

At a press briefing organised in Accra Monday morning, the families cited communications by the head of the Criminal Investigations Department, Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah and the Minister of State in-charge of National Security, Bryan Acheampong, where they gave the impression that the girls’ location was known and that a rescue mission was underway to free the ladies only for the said individuals to backtrack on their clains.

The three girls were kidnapped between August 2018 and December 2018 and despite the numerous assurances by government and the Ghana Police Service, the families suggest the actual location of the girls remains unknown.

The families at the press briefing demanded that “Ghana Police Service and Government officials should stop raising our hopes and later come to dash them as have been the case all these while. They should also stop the false reportage to you the media about the case.”

In their view, government’s lack of commitment in dealing with their issue is evident in their approach to rescue, within weeks, the 2 Canadian girls who were kidnapped in Kumasi last month.

They also questioned the urgency of the Ghana Police Service to get to the bottom of the matter and trace the kidnappers following their inability to retrieve information from the suspects in their custody months after their arrest.

“The families of the Kidnapped victims and thousands of concerned Ghanaians are totally dismayed at the turn of events especially the silent posture being portrayed by the government on this crucial subject”

“What is most shocking is how the Ghana police service/National Security Operatives were able to gather all arsenal to rescue the two missing Canadian nationals with the speed of light three weeks after they were reported missing. So we ask, why Can’t the same security agencies in the country use that “Usain bolt” speed to bring back our girls?”

“The first suspect Samuel Willis stated earlier in his statement that, the second suspect John Oji knows the whereabouts of our girls and that should he (Oji) be found, he could show where the girls are” they lamented.



In addition to the demand by the family that the government and Police should stop dashing their hopes and feeding the media with false reportage, the families also mentioned to the government and the security agencies that “We want the Authorities to investigate who aided Samuel Wills the first suspect to escape from the Takoradi Central Police Station as he stated he was aided by a police officer. Two police officers have since been transferred from the division”

“Stop the kangaroo court hearing that the state is running thereby keeping the aggrieved families in the dark” they insisted.

The families bemoan the impact of the restlessness and apprehension caused by the delay in bringing back their kidnapped children has had on their health.

They accuse the Police of keeping them in the dark as to what the updates are, making them very apprehensive since the assurances of the Police have not yielded any positive result so far.

To this end, they have made a passionate appeal to former Heads of State, the Christian Council and other bodies to intervene on their behalf and get the government to act proactively to rescue the kidnapped girls.

“The families of the three missing girls are so desperate for news about their daughters and their whereabouts. This is giving us sleepless nights with its attendants health implications.”

“Matters relating to the rescue of these 3 girls have sparked so much controversies and aroused very deep sympathy and sentiments amongst Ghanaians yet no major headway has been made so far as information available to the affected families is concerned” the families asserted.

“We are calling on all our statesmen, the present and past presidents of Ghana, the Christian counsel of Ghana, the Muslim community, civil Society Groups and the diplomatic missions to intervene for us because the desperation and the perplexity are simply weighing us down not to talk of the toll being taken on us by the deafening silence of the government and our security Agencies” the concluded.