The police must be circumspect and neutral

The arrest and detention of the parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress for the Awutu Senya East Constituency, Phillis Naa Koryoo Okunor by the Ghana Police Service is another indication that the Ghanaian police are not working independently and cannot be trusted to be fair and just in the upcoming December 7 elections.

When Dr. George Akufo Dampare was appointed as the Inspector General of Police (IGP), many people thought the Ghana Police Service was turning a new leaf and Ghanaians started building a new sense of belief and hope in the service.

Due to Dr. Dampare’s credentials and experience, the hope was that he was going to establish and maintain mutual relationships, respect, and trust between the police service and the Ghanaian citizens.

The hope was that the service was going to be independent of political interference and that professional standards were going to be upheld and maintained for the good of all.

Unfortunately, recent events have indicated otherwise. It is obvious that the Ghana Police Service is the same old Ghana Police Service under Dr. Dampare, if not worse.

In 2020, Mavis Hawa Koomson, the current Member of Parliament for the constituency, fired a gun at a registration centre in the same constituency and was not arrested; however, the police saw the need to arrest and detain Naa Koryoo for possessing a legally licensed weapon. This is the perfect description of selective justice and it is a travesty of justice.

The call by the 2024 presidential candidate of the opposition National The Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, on the Ghana Police Service to immediately release the detained NDC parliamentary candidate for the Awutu Senya East Constituency in the Central Region, Phillis Naa Koryoo Okunor, is in the right order. The IGP must tread with caution in order not to erode the little confidence Ghanaians have in the service.

"This action, taken on the instructions of the National Security Secretariat, will needlessly raise the political temperature in the country and spark avoidable tension. The police service and the IGP must not allow themselves to be used to hang the peace and stability of our nation months before crucial national elections."

"I call on the IGP, the Peace Council, the government, and the people of Ghana to recognise that justice is not just a moral imperative but a crucial prerequisite for maintaining peace and stability in a nation,” John Mahama, I couldn't have said it any better.

When did it become an offence to be in possession of a registered weapon in one’s own name, with all the necessary registration documents submitted to the police?

The action of the Ghana Police Service is dangerous as we go into 2024 general elections. The police must act in a way that all Ghanaians will have confidence and trust in them.

I crave the indulgence of the National Chief Imam, Peace Council, and National House of Chiefs, Christian Council, and all stakeholders to speak to the IGP to be neutral in dealing with all manner of people.