According to the Service, all regional commanders have been tasked to deploy officers to densely populated events.

Speaking to Citi News, Director-General of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, ACP David Eklu, assured Ghanaians of an incident-free Easter season.

[contextly_sidebar id=”XOBzEQTCk5tKFoKoa5fU2JTEs73FRhHV”]“This year, we are deploying not less than 10,000 police officers across the country to make sure that we give the necessary protection to people who will be celebrating the festival. One of the measures we have done is that all the police regional commanders have been directed to deploy in areas that will require a lot of people. For example, places where people will be holding conventions, Easter festivities, picnics and other activities,” he said.

A number of Ghanaians usually visit Kwahu in the Eastern Region to celebrate the Easter season due to the number of activities that are organized there, such as the Paragliding Festival.

According to ACP Eklu, a team from the Police headquarters in Accra will move to the area on Thursday to provide adequate security for people who will visit Kwahu to celebrate the Easter.

“…We are also deploying a specialized team from the headquarters to Kwahu because of the high interest in Easter celebrations there. Personnel from the specialized unit; SWAT, Formed Police Unit and the other units will be leaving Accra to that place. So we have a comprehensive arrangement to ensure maximum security during the Easter season,” the Police Public Affairs Director-General noted.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

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The post Spiritualists who ‘fortify’ criminals to be arrested – C/Region Police appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

In one such case, about 15 armed robbers were on a robbing spree at Weija in Accra. They had two vehicles, one mini bus and a pickup. The police upon a tip-off pursued the robbers in their dragon – the Tundra. The robbers after a hot chase engaged the policemen in a shootout. After about 20 minutes of gunfire exchange, one policeman was gunned down, but the police managed to kill about four of the suspects and arrested the remaining suspects. On that day, there was so much anger within the service at the Accra Regional Police Command. One policeman said to me, ‘Franklin this suspect killed one of us. So I don’t understand why my colleagues killed only four and brought the rest. They should have killed all of them and leave only two for purposes of prosecution’. This is to make the point that the issue of discretion when it comes to the use of force can be very controversial.

Over the last two months, there has been a worrying trend which may appear very unprecedented and unusual. During that same period, I have read and seen a consistent campaign both on social media and on prime radio for the appointment of some very senior police officers to the position of the Inspector General of Police. While this trend may form part of the democratic privileges of the authors, it is a very dangerous trend to see and hear such publications.

It possibly reflects serious reservations made by many people that the police institution has become heavily politicized. A quick assessment of appointments in the Ghana Armed Forces will reveal that at no point have the appointments of Chiefs of Defence Staff and other senior appointments, become a subject for political scrutiny and discussions.

This does not even happen in the Prisons Service or the Immigration Service. Appointments and promotions are made without any evil partisan scrutiny or assessment. It appears to be a professional exercise, but can same be said with the Ghana Police Service?

Note that two months before this whole sense of insecurity, similar campaigns were being run on social media on two persons, Commissioners of Police, Kofi Boakye and Christian Tetteh-Yohuno. There were consistent campaigns on social media for their appointment to either act as IGP, Director General Operations or Director General CID (when the CID job became vacant).

In my opinion, these three positions are the most important positions in the Police Service. These campaigns came in the form of well-designed posters and carefully created graphics intended to solicit for public support. What a way to take advantage of the heightened insecurity to get the job done. There was no way their supporters or assigns would have campaigned for them to occupy the Technical Department or the Services Department. Interestingly some persons I know or do not know or who may not have taken a position on this matter, did so because of the sense of insecurity in the past few days. But I cannot blame them. A problem has been created and a ‘messiah’ is being projected as the sole deliverer so why won’t they fall for the wind?

I have argued that the Service is suffering from years of neglect. I can bet you that the Komenda Edina Eguafo Assembly, KEEA, is more resourced than any of the police commands in the country. Less than 20% of the budget demands are given to them. The best the politicians have done is to throw vehicles at them, thinking that is the solution to their challenges. Cells are poorly constructed; many cells haven’t seen any renovation for more than 40 years. The Kalashnikov rifle (AK 47) is believed to be the best weapon ever to have been manufactured. But how can our service men be using rusty AKs bound by brown and black ‘cellutapes’ and other adhesives in 2018? Not half of service men can use a rifle and that is a fact. Never assume that every police man or woman you see around is capable of handling a weapon.

Yes; it is part of the six months training regime but if what a former Police Commissioner said on UTV last week is anything to go by, then they spend only two days on weapon training. However, it must be noted that members of the anti-robbery squad and other combat teams are regularly trained to handle the weapon for operational purposes.

Men and women continue to live in dire situations and yet, we expect to wave a wand and expect a magical operational action from them. Trust me, so many police officers haven’t set sight on a bullet proof vest before; and I have seen so many of them who cannot even fix a handcuff on a suspect.

There are real problems from recruitment to leadership (at the highest level) in the service, so I cannot blame the current insecurity on the lack of resources. The current insecurity has nothing to do with strategy and that is why every single security expert who has been interviewed hasn’t complained about the lack of strategy.

I would usually ignore such uninformed posts largely being circulated by known group of people until two weeks ago when these disingenuous campaigns became widespread and gained traction. It was obvious that such persons were taking advantage of the sense of insecurity to promote these two men for these jobs.

DCOP Kofi Boakye as he then was, was transferred to the Ashanti Region as the Regional Commander. It is a clear fact that during his tenure, armed attacks increased exponentially. I personally worked on stories about the insecurity in the region especially after the killing of a police officer. This insecurity was so serious that the National Operations Command despatched more than 100 police officers to quell the deadly menace. The then IGP had to visit the region to assess the operational structures in the region.

The brutal attacks became a national issue and occupied our media space for many weeks until the additional men from Accra and the complementary works of the Northern Command of the Ghana Armed Forces made a difference. Could we have blamed the then regional commander for the insecurity or could we have rightfully claimed that he lacked leadership and operational skills, thereby causing the feared deaths and attacks?

The Kofi Boakye analogy

There is this myth about COP Boakye and the arrest of Ataa Ayi. His supporters appear to use the arrest of this serial killer and robber as the reason behind their demand for his appointment to the high office of IGP. From the social media messages, some are also infatuated about his public show of force, mostly with broad biceps, thick black shades and his use of security dogs as a sign of strength capable of sending fears down the spine and mind of criminals.

Crime in the modern day is fought with the use of technology, modern resources (personnel and equipment) and data and not through ‘superhero’ fiction images. These images were available and seen, but criminals in the Ashanti Region somewhat had the freedom and boldness to operate. The point I am making is that, our current threats cannot be solved by any single individual, not even the revered five star U.S General, David Patraeus or the C.I.A Director Mike Pompeo, if the police institution is under-resourced.

If you want me to be very realistic, COP Kofi Boakye may never be appointed as IGP under an NPP government and this is why. He was put on indefinite suspension pending the final determination of possibly the biggest cocaine scandal in our history. The state did not bring any charges against him after years of investigations, but was still not in active service. President John Mahama reinstated him, and years later promoted him to the coveted rank of Commissioner of Police.

Three years prior to the general elections, videos and pictures were widely circulated depicting a rather harmonious and what appeared to be a very personal relationship between COP Boakye and the former President. In fact, we all saw the mistrust between the then opposition NPP, now the ruling party in the region, and the then regional commander ahead of the elections. That mistrust is still very much alive in my opinion. Let us not kid ourselves, when you speak to NPP functionaries they are very bold and convinced that COP Boakye may never be appointed IGP under this government.

Possibly it explains why many NPP functionaries on social media mock at this campaign for him to become IGP, and why some NDC functionaries also openly support a campaign bid to see him appointed as IGP. I am not in any way doubting any professional value he may have.

As for COP Yohuno, I was lucky enough to have covered crime in the region during his tenure as Accra Regional Police Commander. When I saw campaigns being circulated for his appointment as IGP, I hissed at those calls. My moments as a journalist who reports mostly on security, was during his tenure. ‘Criminal activities in Accra bi what’? From Teshie, Amasaman, Achimita, Kaneshie, Amanfrom, Weija, Dansoman, Tsui Bleo, Spintex, I mean you just name it – these areas were constantly under attack. As journalists, we always expected an attack for purposes of our reportage because we could predict them. You could not see any clear vision and strategy to eliminate those crimes. Once Mr. Kudalor was made IGP, I knew he was going to be appointed as Director General Operations of the Service due to their close relationship, when Mr. Kudalor served in that capacity.

During AFAG and LMVCA demonstrations, we could easily see the security lapses during his tenure, and it was at that time I duffed my heart to the then Nima Divisional Commander ACP Jango for showing a lot of leadership. And of course, proponents reserve the right to embark on this unethical path of clamouring support for him to be appointed IGP.

An incapable IGP?

I branded and referred to the current IGP, as incompetent and ineffective in an article published more than seven months ago. I may have been justified on hindsight. As usual, an IGP who was some few weeks away from his retirement was appointed and is now on a two-year contract. Trust me, nothing will change under him. He is still clueless as I predicted many months ago. His latest reshuffle clearly showed how tactless he is and how he lacks ideas. Either ways his days to step down or be sacked as IGP are very much numbered, and already lobbying for his successor has begun in earnest. This is what Former President Rawlings tweeted some days ago;
‘Let us hope the recent robbery and killings is downright plain robbery and not a politically motivated action from within or without, calculated to undermine those in charge of the security machinery in order to pave the way for certain parochial ambitions’.

In Ghana, we clearly rubbish these very peculiar observations but easily accept them in movies. Commanders at all levels access information to arrest the bigger criminals and this includes suspects of murder, drugs among others. Many of these informants are ‘smaller’ criminals who are used to fish out the ‘bigger’ criminals. They are rewarded for the kind of intel they give and have a strong bond and relationship with these commanders.

I am aware of many popular and serious criminal cases that were unraveled due to the information given by these guys. What is the point I want to make? Are we saying that it will be out of place for these ‘informants’ to be used to perpetuate some crimes such as the ones we are witnessing in order to undermine some persons in authority within the security service? Until some confession statements were made via popular social media activist David Papa Bondze-Mbir, many people wouldn’t have believed the things people could do, to achieve what they want even if it involves the loss of lives and property. Nothing is impossible and the world as we see it today is really ‘dark’.

May our President take the best security decisions and make the best security appointments in our interest as a nation and not because of the partisan interest of a select few. If anything, Martin Amidu’s appointment as Special Prosecutor suggests that there are still incorruptible and very honest people to serve the country’s interest.
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By: Franklin Badu Jnr/citifmonline.com/Ghana

Email: [email protected]

The post Detecting the real enemy; why Ghana Police needs no ‘superman’ [Article] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

There has been an upsurge in armed robbery cases in the last few weeks with a number of them involving daylight attacks on individuals and institutions.

Speaking on Citi FM’s News analysis programme, The Big Issue on Saturday, Budu Koomson said the only way to fight the robbers, who he said are in the minority, is to match them “boot for boot.”

“These armed robbers are never in the majority, it is a small group that has to be taken on rather with bold action by the security agencies. You don’t go to them with kids gloves. I will preach for bold action, take them on, boot for boot.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”yY3kHgd3oDWlYEWwChjMXeM9kQgbjUjj”]“It is war and war is not pleasant. They’ve declared war on us. Professionalism doesn’t mean cowardice or treating people with kids gloves. Let us give them the space to deal with this thing radically,” he added.

Captain Koomson also welcomed a decision by government to deploy the military in the fight against armed robbers,  saying that although it is a short-term measure, it is reassuring to the public.

He further called on government to retool the security agencies to enable them discharge their duties effectively.

“I would say that bringing in the military to collaborate with the police is a short-term approach but it is reassuring. It is a short-term measure to put the fear of God in the criminals but the long term is to actually enhance the capabilities of the police, give them logistics and force the training on them. We have to build the intelligence capacity to filter out these things before they hit us,” he added.

2 suspected robbers gunned down at Haatso

His comments come after officers from the Greater Accra Regional Police Command gunned down two suspected notorious robbers in their hideout in what the police calls an exchange of gunfire earlier this week.

According to the Police, the two, Raymond, alias Dragon, and Kwame alias Mafia, are suspected to be part of a syndicate that robbed a fuel station at Haatso in Accra.

They are believed to have also been involved in the attack on the Kwabenya District Police station which led to some 7 inmates being freed and the killing of a police officer, Inspector Emmanuel Ashilevi.

According to the Minister of State in charge of National Security, Bryan Acheampong, over 200 robbery cases have been recorded since January 2018.

However, he insisted that despite a significant increase in the number of cases so far this year as compared to the same time last year, there has consistently been a large number of robbery cases for close to two decades.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Police must deal with robbers ‘boot for boot’ – Budu Koomson appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Speaking on Eyewitness News, he said voluntary information is very important to the success of policing of any country.

“Informants are very vital to policing of every part of any country but people have found challenges in trusting the police,” he said.

[contextly_sidebar id=”cDgWAITPiM0zbUu2tMSCgysmpLXTyQgk”]According to him, the best way forward for Ghana in terms of combating the mistrust is to revisit the recruitment process, retrain and improve supervision of responsibilities.

“Going forward and looking for a more efficient Ghana Police Service, I think we need to go down to recruitments, to training to retraining to supervision. Supervising roles from the police station to the district, to the division. If the police stations are solid, in terms of proper recruitment, training and retraining, once the grounds are solid, there will be fewer problems at the national level,” he said.

He said the police will continue to struggle if citizens continue to question their integrity.

There have been several instances where police officers have been found to be culprits in robberies and other fraudulent activities, whilst several of them have also been accused of being neck-deep in bribery and corruption.

In some cases, informants have accused the police of failing to protect them.

There have been concerns about insecurity generally following reports of robbery cases in Accra, Tema and other parts of the country.

Recent arrests

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), David Asante Apeatu, this week announced that the police have arrested a group of suspected robbers believed to be behind attacks on about 20 forex bureaux in the Spintex area in 2018.

The attacks on these Forex Bureaux were growing number of robberies and high-profile criminal activity in the region.

Mobile money transfer points have also been targeted by robbers in recent times.

‘We’re ready to die’

Despite these attacks some of which have also been recorded in Accra and Tema, COP George Akufo Dampare, who was Director of Operations until on Thursday when he was reassigned to the Research and Planning unit of the Police Service, has said although his outfit is logistically deficient, they are ready to put their lives on the line to ensure the safety of every Ghanaian.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Dampare also noted that the support of the citizens will go a long way to help the Police Service combat the increasing rate of crime in the country.

“We want to give them [citizens] the assurance that we will go every length, including losing our lives to make them safe. We understand that we are not there yet, in terms of the full complement of our equipment. We also understand that over the years, government after government has made an attempt to bring us to a particular level in terms of equipment,” he said.

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By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Public mistrust the biggest challenge for Ghana Police – Sowatey appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to him, that position “is not the law of the land,” as the Police want to impose on citizens.

[contextly_sidebar id=”3MFoxYl7Pzh59SWfWZSDKuldNTXl6EwO”]Bright Simons’ comment comes on the back of the arrest of the chairman of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Bernard Mornah on Saturday by the Nima Police, while he rallied some citizens at the Kawukudi Park to embark on a peaceful march.

The about 19 persons, including Bernard Mornah, who were arrested were members of the Ghana-Togo Solidarity Movement whose peaceful march was to draw the attention of local and international authorities to the political crisis in Togo.

They were detained behind the police counter for hours without explanation of their offence.

The Police later argued that it had not approved the movement’s gathering.

However, Bernard Mornah revealed that the Police had granted them the permission to embark on the peaceful march until they called on him much closer to the event day to cancel it due to operational challenges.

He said he assured the police the peaceful march required very little police presence and that the march could not be postponed because of the resources invested into its preparation.

Bernard Mornah said the police on the event day, arrested them in “rambo style” and threw him into a police vehicle “like a piece of charcoal.”

Bright Simons in a Facebook post on the matter said the police must cease the “illegal, oppressive behavior,” that sees it arrest citizens under such circumstances.

He argued that the Police must seek the necessary parliamentary action on a draft bill from the Interior Ministry to enable it to get the authority to approve notices of events before they are held.

“This continued insistence by the Police that they must approve all notices given to them ahead of public, non-commercial, events IS NOT THE LAW OF THE LAND! If they believe they need this law, they should talk to their sector Minister to head to Parliament with the requisite draft bill….Can they stop this illegal, oppressive, behavior already!” he posted.

Bright Simons insisted that the Police must render an apology to Bernard Mornah and the others who were arrested for abusing their rights.

He said they must also show remorse publicly for their action and cease any investigation into the matter.

“They should discontinue all ongoing “investigations”/proceedings against the Kawukudi 19, apologise to them for the abuse of their rights, and show contrition publicly!” he added.

Meanwhile, the Bernard Mornah has vowed to drag the Police to court for abusing his rights.

What does the Public Order Act say?

The Public Order Act 1994 (ACT 491), from where the Police draws its authority in the holding of special of events indicates that, in attempt to stop a special events from occurring either because organizers refuse to comply with a request to postpone or relocate events, “police may apply to any judge or a chairman of a Tribunal for an order to prohibit the holding of the special event on the proposed date or at the proposed location.”

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Stop illegal, oppressive arrests – Bright Simons to Police appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The cases are either awaiting trial or under investigation, a clear demonstration of the slow pace of justice delivery in Ghana.

[contextly_sidebar id=”iqCCelbgr9O7y2LrJth4JsSyBwWS2HtV”]For the two-year period, 568 of the cases are awaiting trial.

It comprises 388 cases for 2015 and 180 cases for 2016.

Similarly, 532 of the cases, comprising 248 in 2015 and 284 in 2016, are still under investigations.

The DOVVSU data revealed that 120 cases out of the 1,919 have successfully been prosecuted and convictions secured.

The convictions secured in the year 2016 for defilement cases were 36 out of the 721 cases filed, and for the year 2015, convictions secured were 84 out of the 1,198 cases booked.

702 Cases pending in courts

A total of 702 cases, made up of 481 in 2015 and 221 in 2016, are still pending in various courts across the country.

In 2016, two of the suspects tried were acquitted and discharged, and in 2015, nine were also acquitted and discharged.

The document further details that for the year 2016, 722 suspects were apprehended, out of which 721 were males and only one suspect was a female.

In all 1,198 suspects arrested for defilement cases in 2015 were males.

In the document, the data established the relationship between victims and suspects: for the year 2016, 65 were related to the victims; 121 were close to the victim’s family and 543 fell under the category of ‘Others’.

In the year 2015, the facts point out that 27 suspects in the defilement cases were related to the victims, 262 had a close-knit relationship to the victims and 900 of the suspects fell under the category labelled ‘Others’.

Speaking to the National Co-ordinator, Chief Superintendent Rev Lawrencia Akorli, on why defilement cases for two years (2015 & 2016), were still unresolved, she said the delay in treatment of the cases is due to judicial issues of adjournment and the long leave of absence of judges sitting on some of the cases from the unit.

Chief Supt. Akorli also detailed that witness hostility is one of the major hurdles that is responsible for greater part of the cases being unresolved.

Expatiating on the issue of witness hostility, she noted that some witnesses, and in extreme cases victims, refuse to co-operate with the prosecutors to see the case through.

Speaking on whether the victims and perpetrators withdraw cases from the unit to settle at home, Chief Supt. Akorli seized the opportunity to inform the nation that defilement cases are criminal cases, hence are dealt with as such.

“You can’t withdraw a defilement case from our unit,” she added.

She opined that the unit has had instances where victims and witnesses abandoned court proceedings for reasons that they are dragging their family’s name in the mud.

The National Co-ordinator stated that it was for such reasons that they educated victims to limit family interference in cases.

Chief Supt. Akorli gave her assurance that the unit is doing its utmost best to bring perpetrators to book, but added that the lack of co-operation from victims and their families is impeding the progress of their work.

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Source: Finder

The post 1,100 defilement cases unresolved since 2015 appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

In recent times, residents of Kasoa and its environs have complained about the frequent robbery attacks and called for increased protection from the police.

[contextly_sidebar id=”llBJdPIeKXuewjUt8D1LGbN9iCiwoaqu”]Speaking to journalists at the launch of ‘Operation Hit Hard’ as part of efforts to foil the attempts of armed robbers, the Central Regional Police commander, COP Rev Neenyi David Ampah Banin, assured residents of Kasoa that their safety is guaranteed.

“The Regional Police Command has noticed with concern the increasing crime rate in Kasoa and its environs and would like to assure residents and all stakeholders that measures are being put in place or measures are in place already to address the situation as Christmas is approaching. Therefore, today [Tuesday], we want to launch our “Operation Hit Had” or “2H” and we would sustain it well after even the Christmas” he said

“We want to assure the suspects; people who want to cause havoc on the peaceful, law-abiding citizens of Kasoa that they should standby because the police would be on their heels. As I’m talking right now, we have brought in new sets of police constables numbering about 39 to come and augment the strength of the Kasoa division and they will start operation now, immediately after the launch of the operation hit hard, which would be sustained well after the Christmas.”

He added that, “Senior Officers from all the divisions will all be deployed, no officer is going to rest. Officers from Cape Coast will also come and assist them.  So we want to assure the city of Kasoa that if they are crying, we have heard their cry. Kasoa is going to be peaceful. We are going to eliminate every single criminal from this society and everybody would love to come and live in Kasoa”.

Kasoa, Amanfrom residents live in fear

Robbers have constantly been terrorizing residents at Kasoa and surrounding areas including Amanfrom.

The residents have on numerous occasions blamed the police for not acting swiftly anytime they are under attack.

In a rather bizarre situation in August 2017, some residents after apprehending a suspected robber, burnt him after lynching him.

Speaking to Citi News on the development, the Kasoa Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Samuel Winful, condemned the act, adding that the police is investigating the incident, and would arrest those involved in lynching the suspect.

According to him, “Police cannot be everywhere 24 hours. People should be mindful of their own security. Any suspected movement around their vicinity, they should draw the attention of the Police; and if you inform the Police about a suspected behavior we will not expose you.”

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By: Michael Ogbodu/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post More police officers deployed to combat robbers in Kasoa appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

It said it is currently considering a petition from a group to commence the investigation, and it will duly do so if the petition properly invokes its jurisdiction.

[contextly_sidebar id=”wGesOeVtahrWccFcO3HGKwBCThf44NWj”]A-Plus took to Facebook earlier this month to accuse President Akufo-Addo’s two Deputy Chiefs of Staff, Francis Asenso-Boakye, and Abu Jinapor of being corrupt.

Francis Asenso-Boakye subsequently rejected the claims describing them as false.

After receiving several backlash from the public including some members of the government, A-Plus apologized to the President for his actions, admitting that he used the wrong platform to voice out his concerns.

President Akufo-Addo subsequently ordered the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service to conduct an investigation into the matter.

The department, after its investigations, said it found A-Plus’ claims to be baseless, but A-Plus in a subsequent media interaction expressed his disagreement with the report.

A leaked audio tape later emerged with a conversation between A-Plus and a senior CID officer in which the officer supposedly indicated to A-Plus that the report was skewed to favour the government officials.

The CID officer in the tape, who’s the Deputy Director of the CID, ACP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, later claimed that the tape was doctored, adding that A-Plus had threatened to blackmail her with it.

Many have said the development casts great doubt over the CID’s report, and have called for an independent investigative body such as CHRAJ to re-look at the matter.

But according to the Commissioner of CHRAJ, Joseph Whittal, it will take up the matter since it is of public interest.

“We knew that the police were conducting their investigations and we were sufficiently convinced that they will do a good job and so as a sister investigative body, we didn’t have to call into question the credibility of the police investigations until this latter-day issue of doctored tape and all those things came up…We would naturally want to intervene because it is a matter of interest.”

A group, calling itself the Dynamic Youth Movement of Ghana (DYMOG), has petitioned CHRAJ to look into the matter, but Joseph Whittal said, “If we look at the content of the petition and we are convinced that the anti-corruption mandate of the commission is triggered, nothing will stop the commission from investigating and putting out the facts that Ghanaians ought to know.”

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post We may investigate A-Plus corruption saga – CHRAJ boss appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the Police, they have a bench warrant to arrest the two; Zhang Ming alias Gary and Chu Yong Shuai “for the offence of importation of Tilapia Fish in commercial quantity into the Republic of Ghana without permit contrary to section 130 (1) and (3) of Fisheries Act 2002 (Act 625) respectively.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”7ZwOvcupHUnexGVib8w7k3TtCwW3rh2g”]Zhang Ming, a businessman and his accomplice Shuai, imported 1,310 cartons of tilapia into a cold store in Tema on January 29, 2017, the police said in a public notice signed by Olivia Turkson, Public Relations Officer of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

“The Food and Drugs Authority were invited by the Police to inspect the alleged imported tilapia to ascertain whether the fish were wholesome for human consumption. Results by the FDA revealed that the tilapia were unwholesome for human consumption.”

The suspects have since bolted, and according to the police, all efforts made to trace them have proved futile “hence the call for public support to get the suspects arrested and brought to book.”

‘Fish shortage to hit Ghana if Chinese fishermen are banned’

The development comes after calls by some Ghanaian fishermen for government to stop Chinese fishermen from operating in Ghanaian waters.

But the Managing Director of the semi-industrial fishing company, Onyame Fisheries, Joe Onyame, insisted that there will be a severe shortage of fish in Ghana if Chinese fishermen are banned.

According to him, the locals do not have the requisite capital and skill to buy and operate vessels used by the Chinese to harvest fish from the sea for consumption.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Ghana Police chase 2 Chinese for importing harmful tilapia appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.