A Senior Lecturer at the University of Education, Winneba, Dr. Ahmed Jinapor, has described the change of charges against the thirteen Delta Force members as a “charade”.
The educationist said “this charge is a charade and it is an indictment on the Ghana Police Service in general”.
Dr. Jinapor was contributing to discussions on TV3’s New Day on Wednesday on the new charge leveled against the 13 ‘Delta Force’ members.
The previous charges have been dropped for a new one of rioting.
The thirteen were arrested after they stormed the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council in protest of the appointment of the Regional Security Coordinator.
During a court session in April this year, the 13 were ‘set free’ by their colleagues who stormed the court and disrupted proceedings. But the suspects later turned themselves in.
They were initially charged by the police for assault on a public officer but that was dropped.
The Attorney-General withdrew that suit, Prosecutor ACP Okyere Darko told the court on Tuesday during hearing, and substituted it with rioting.
The Senior Lecturer explained that “what they did was not rioting. It was not simple as rioting and the fact is these charges were not preferred by the President. They were preferred by the police”.
Dr. Jinapor noted that “when people do the wrong things, they need to be punished to serve as deterrent to others”.
The Member of Parliament for Tamale North Constituency in the Northern Region, Alhassan Sayibu Suhuyini, warned that Ghana is gradually developing into a rebel state.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP said “we should all be concern because other countries that have rebels today did not fall from heaven. They did not fall from hell”.
“It was as a result of some things that were taken for granted. It is not surprising because if you follow this other related cases, you will understand that there is simply no willingness from the government to prosecute the case,” the MP explained.
He added: “Rioting is a minor crime compared to the case of assault on a public officer but there is no willingness in ensuring justice in this matter”.
The NDC legislator noted that “the state handlers must put the interest and the security of this nation paramount instead of placating people they think worked for them”.
“The fact that they work for them does not change the fact that there could be darkness in Ghana due to their actions,” Alhaji Suhuyini added.
The former Member of Parliament for Bantama Constituency in the Ashanti Region, Dr. Henry Kwabena Kokofu, said if a prosecutor finds a charge inappropriate in a case, he/she can change the charge sheet.
Lawyer Kokofu added that it is only a prosecutor who can change a charge against a suspect so in this case, they thought of it and realized the earlier charges had not merit.
By Kweku Antwi-Otoo|TV3|3news.com|Ghana