There seem to be a show of power at the Operations Department of the National Police Headquarters and the Greater Accra Regional Police command as a 64 year old regent of Appolonia was refused bail after spending 48 hours with the police due to the excuse of “order from above”.
The regent, Nii Tettey Mansrou ands eight others were picked up in a rambo style at separate locations on Saturday.
Narrating the incident, spokesperson for the chief, Simon Nartey noted that ” Nii Mansro was on his way from town around noon on saturday 28th september, in Tema, where his vehicle was crossed by some arm wielding police personal purported to be coming from the joint operations unit of the police headquarters under the instruction of one George Mensah”.
He said, ” the police men, some of whom from the account of eye witnesses around the chief’s neighbourhood, were on motorbikes and others on board a pickup vehicle crossed the chief’s vehicle in a rambo style and forced him to make a u-turn to the police headquarters at Accra. Without hesitation, he obliged. His phones were immediately taken from him and was denied the opportunity to even place a phone call to his lawyers as well as family members”.
“Similarly, some eight other persons including the regent’s younger brother, Oko Mansro were also picked up by the police in a similar fashion at seperate locations”.
Mr Nartey continued that, “upon some instruction we are told is ‘from above’, the regent was first taken to Westland police station at West Legon where he was detained together with the other alleged accomplices until they were transferred to the central police station on sunday evening around 8pm. All this while none of them were given the opportunity to even write their statement let alone call their lawyers or family relations. We had to be combing police station to police station in search for our father and the other persons picked up in the said operation”. Mr Nartey said.
He noted that, “so far they have been refused bail even after 48 hours of detaining them. All efforts to secure bail for them have proved futile as we are told it is order from above. At some point, it was rumoured that the order to arrest Nii Mansro and the other eight persons was coming from the office of the National Security Minister, Hon Kan Dapaah, and at some point we are told the order is coming from someone above at the Jubilee House. We are really worried about the development because we feel justice is not being served in this quack arrest. Our checks at the office of the National security minister has it on record that the Minister has no hands in the said arrest, yet his name is being thrown about in this whole well orchestrated arrest”.
We are calling on the acting Inspector General of Police and the National Security Minister to stamp their authority and ensure that investigation is conducted into the matter and persons involved in this arrest are brought to book as soon as possible since some service men are bringing the name of the service into disrepute.