Top police officer interdicted

The police administration has moved swiftly to unravel the circumstances leading to last weekend’s attempted arrest of Mr Tsatsu Tsikata, former chief executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC). As part of the investigation, Mr Sam Awotwi, Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the Legal Department has been interdicted with immediate effect for his role in the botched operation.

A security source told “The Evening News” on Tuesday morning that they were also investigating whether the interdicted senior police officer’s long association with the former GNPC boss might have influenced his role in the authorised arrest of Mr Tsikata. The two were said to have been friends and mates at Mfantsipim School in Cape Coast from Form One to Upper Six and also at the Law School.

The source said last Sunday’s incident has security system who are bent on doing things to embarrass the government. It said what baffled senior security men was that Mr Awotwi who is also head of the Police Prosecution Unit went underground immediately after the incident.

“He switched off all his communication gadgets and therefore all attempts by his superiors to get in touch with him proved futile. “We find his conduct in the whole operation very suspicious which would not be countenanced by the police administration,” the source told the Evening News.

It said when some members of the Dunwell Church were interviewed, they said the two policemen told them that even though they (the police) were not happy with the operation, they had been instructed to carry it out. The police also told them that if they (the church members) wanted the arrest to be aborted, they should get in touch with a radio station to make noise on the air.

“As a matter of fact within minutes the incident was on air. Certainly, this is a clear case of a well-rehearsed plan to embarrass the NPP government. But we want to assure all Ghanaians that the government is in full control and those found to be owing allegiance to personalities and interest groups other than the President and the state would be smoked out,” the source clearly emphasized