Top police officer indicted over attempted rape

A senior police officer, Chief Superintendent Wisdom Akorli, has been indicted by the Police Administration for allegedly luring a teenager into a hotel room and attempting to rape her.

Wisdom Akorli, the Divisional Commander of Akyem Oda in the Eastern Region, is said to have invited the 17-year-old girl (name withheld) from Oda to a hideout at Akim Asene after receiving a complaint that she had destroyed someone's school certificate.

Chief Superintendent Akorli was caught red-handed by some residents of Asene when the girl’s shrill screams attracted them to the hotel.

The incident happened last Wednesday.

Ironically, the one who made the complaint against the teenager was Chief Superintendent Wisdom Akorli’s girlfriend, who claimed the victim had destroyed her certificate following a misunderstanding.

Sources at Oda said the commander's girlfriend and the 17-year-old were close friends.

According to reports, the commander's girlfriend had an argument with the victim and in the course of the quarrel, the victim allegedly tore up her certificate.

Reports hold that as a result of the incident, Chief Supt Akorli's girlfriend told him to invite the girl for questioning over the certificate.

The commander was said to have called the girl on the phone and later invited her to the hotel, where he allegedly tried to defile her.

The good Samaritans who came to the girl’s aid seized the commander’s car keys and uniform for use as evidence.

On Saturday, Acting Director of the Police Public Affairs Directorate, DSP Cephas Arthur, confirmed the Oda commander’s interdiction on Peace FM.

He said the Police Service indicted Chief Supt Akorli based on the seriousness of the allegations made against him to enable the police conduct independent investigations into the matter.

He said police officers who are responsible for protecting the vulnerable, must not be seen as taking advantage of the very people they are supposed to protect.

Last January, the Daily Guide reported another story that raised questions about Akorli’s moral character.

According to the report, Chief Supt Akorli's girlfriend of seven months had reported him to the police authorities in Accra for allegedly maltreating and constantly abusing her after their relationship went sour.

Then 21-year-old Comfort Tawiah of Akim Akroso near Oda, in the company of her mother and an uncle, went to the police headquarters in Accra to officially lodge an abuse complaint against the police boss, claiming that Oda police were not willing to listen to the story because it involves their superior.

She and her mother also accused some policemen at Oda of complicity in the alleged abuse case, saying that Akorli had been going to her house with other policemen to threaten and attack her.

Matters came to a head when on Wednesday, January 4, 2012, the Oda police boss, in the company of some policemen, went to Ms Tawiah's apartment, which the police boss had rented for her, to forcibly eject her and allegedly beat her into a coma in the process.

Ms Tawiah, who confirmed the story to the Daily Guide, said the police chief led some policemen to her chamber-and-hall apartment at Oda while her mother was visiting her and beat her until she 'fainted' and had to be rushed to the Oda Government hospital.