Police officers who assaulted Times journalists interdicted

Malik [L] showing his reddish eye and a bruise on his leg with Raissa on her hospital bed[/caption]The Inspector-General of Police has directed the immediate interdiction of three policemen who allegedly assaulted Ghanaian Times journalists including a nursing mother last week. They are:

1. Inspector Isaac Opare – Ministries Division/Accra
2. No. 37698 Sgt. Ebenezer Akron – Accra Regional Police Headquarters
3. No. 50852 L/Cpl. Evans Kofi Ntim – Police Visibility/Accra

“The Inspector-General of Police has further directed the Accra Regional Crime Officer to take over the investigation of the case from Ministries Police Station,” Director General of Public Affairs Department of the Ghana Police Service, ACP David Eklu said in a statement. The IGP, David Asante Apeatu, the statement said, has also instructed the Commander of the Accra Central Motor Traffic Unit to take over the Motor Traffic Accident aspect of the case. Both commanders are to submit their reports in one week, it said. [caption id="attachment_117155" align="aligncenter" width="531"] One of the officers who assaulted the journalists[/caption] “Additionally, the Police Professional and Standard Bureau (PPSB) has also been directed to look into the conduct of the Police officers who were on duty at the Ministries Police Station when the incident was reported.” Background Two journalists -Malik Sulemana and Raissa Sambou – of the state-owned Ghanaian Times were assaulted by about 10 police officers and a soldier on Thursday March 14 when they decided to film an accident involving a police officer riding an unregistered motorcycle and who got involved in a traffic offence. Another person, an editor from the same media house was also heckled by the police officers. [caption id="attachment_117167" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Raisa Sambou at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital after Police assaulted her on Thursday[/caption] One of the journalists, a lactating mother who had her baby through a caesarean section, was hit in the lower abdomen, collapsed, and was rushed to the emergency Unit of the Ridge Hospital while the others were again manhandled by the police. Meanwhile, the Executive Director for the Bureau of Public Safety Nana Yaw Akwada said the action taken by the IGP is commendable and has come at the right time. However, he said it will only assuage the pains of the victims, but would do little to the trust and confidence public has in the service, which has dipped in recent times. He therefore charged the police to exhibit consistency in all cases perpetuated against citizens. Read: Assault on journalists: CHRAJ wants police officers prosecuted, rejects service enquiry Source: 3news.com | Ghana ]]>