General News of Monday, 31 January 2011

Source: The Chronicle

‘Kidnap’ Drama @ Archbishop Porter Girls

But, for the timely intervention of security personnel of the Archbishop Porter Senior High School (APSHS) in Sekondi, a female student of the school would have been ‘kidnapped’.

The four, who attempted the act, are currently in police grips, and assisting with investigations. However, reports suggest that personnel at the police station have since remained tight-lipped over the issue.

Information gathered by this reporter indicates that the four persons were arrested last week Saturday, when they visited a female student of the Archbishop Porter Senior High School.

The student, whose name is being withheld for security reasons, is said to be light in complexion.

The Chronicle on Saturday gathered that the girl had arranged with the four persons to hide her in the trunk of their vehicle, in a bid to outsmart security checks at the school gate. The four were believed to have been sent by a top musician.

Although the Sekondi District Commander confirmed the incident to The Chronicle on Saturday in a telephone interview, he was unable to give detailed information as to how the incident occurred. Neither would he give this reporter the names of the four, who are in police custody, because they did not want the case to be put in the public domain by the media.

Interestingly, another female student, who had concrete information on the dramatized ‘kidnapping’, quickly relayed the information to the Headmistress of the school, Madam Constance Louisa Aggrey, and she in turn, alerted the security personnel at the school gate to be vigilant in relation to what she had heard.

Eventually, when the vehicle got to the gate, it was alleged that the four persons resisted the security personnel’s attempt to search the trunk of their car. But, the security personnel overpowered them, and forced the vehicle’s trunk open, and to their surprise, found the student hiding in it.

The kind of disciplinary action to be taken against her is unknown, as there are attempts by both the school and the police to settle the matter amicably.

Mrs. Aggrey also confirmed the incident in a telephone interview with the Chronicle on Saturday, and pointed out that the school had resolved the issue. However, she could not tell the kind of disciplinary action to be taken against the student. She noted that the student in question, who consented to the kidnapping attempt, had breached the rules and regulations of the school.

“I want to be polite to you; we have solved the problem and don’t want any further publicity,” she added.