Health Administrator saved from being lynched

Tema, July 26, GNA - Some residents of Ashaiman exhibited honesty and determination to save a health administrator from being lynched in the late hours of Wednesday, July 13.

But for these "Good Samaritans", Mr Peter Dagadu, a Principal Administrative Officer of the Ministry of Health in Accra, would have ended his life abruptly.

On that fateful day, a Police Sergeant, who described Dagadu as an alleged fraudster, confronted him.

He said the man whom he later got to know as Police Sergeant Cephas Dango of Nungua Police Station confronted him to demand 100,000 cedis he allegedly loaned to Mr Dagadu to send his sick daughter to the hospital.

According Mr Dagadu, Sgt. Dango described him as a teacher of Tema Methodist Day Secondary School, who approached him for the money. Mr Dagadu said he denied the claim but Sgt. Dango insisted that he was the one.

Narrating his ordeal to the Ghana News Agency at Tema on Monday, the health administrator said after close of work, he visited a cousin at Ashaiman.

He said when they were walking towards Ashaiman Lorry Park the policeman approached him and "He asked me to give him the 100,000 cedis he loaned me to send my sick daughter to hospital".

Mr Dagadu said Sgt. Dagadu insisted he was the one who had borrowed money from him and that if he did not refund the amount, he would invite people to lynch him.

Mr Dagadu said: "Suddenly, an arranged taxi pulled up and many people surrounded me, forcing me into the vehicle but I refused, because I knew they were going to kill me".

At this juncture, the man introduced himself as a policeman and that, if I did not enter the vehicle he would let the people kill me. But some people among the crowd had sympathy on me and demanded I should be taken to the police station but the policeman refused". Mr Dagadu said in the midst of the confusion, with the help of the sympathisers he sneaked to the Ashaiman Police station, which was not far from where the incident happened.

While at the police station, Sgt. Dango also came to lodge a complaint of fraud against him (Dagadu).

Mr Dagadu said the policemen on duty tended to believe their colleague's story and gave him a hearing before attending to him even with much frustration.

"At the police station a man from the crowd came out boldly to tell the policemen on duty to be wary of Sgt. Dango's action, because he was fond of doing that but they ignored him and rather shouted at him to shut up".

He said he was detained and finally released on bail around 12 midnight.

When the GNA contracted Deputy Superintendent of Police John Yamba, Commander of Ashaiman Police Station, he confirmed the story and said the case was under investigations.