Report not victimisation of Police - President

President John Agyekum Kufuor has said that the implementation of the White Paper on the May 9 Accra Stadium Report should not be misconstrued as victimisation of some sort against the police officers involved.

He said the action should be viewed as pursuing the rule of law in pursuit of the truth, as some of the officers are alleged to have misconducted themselves which resulted in the loss of 126 lives.

President Kufuor was addressing 300 officers and men drawn from all parts of the country at the Police Headquarters in Accra yesterday.

This was after he had inaugurated a 10-member National Police Council, also at the Police Headquarters, under his chairmanship, as required by the Constitution.

President Kufuor has, however, appointed Mr B. J. da Rocha, a veteran lawyer, as the alternate chairman who will see to the day-to-day matters concerning the council.

Other members are Honourable Malik Al-Hassan Yakubu(MP), Minister of the Interior; Mr Ernest Owusu-Poku, Inspector-General of Police; Ms Gloria Akuffo, Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice; Mr J. Ebow Quashie, representing the Ghana Bar Association, and Mr C. K. Kuadey, representing retired police officers.
Others are Mr J. B. Amofa, Deputy Commissioner of Police; Inspector Jordan Quaye, Alhaji Abdel Kareem Iddrisu and Osuodumgya Barima Kwame Bonsu, Hwidiemhene, both of whom are the President’s nominees.
President Kufuor told the officers that the government will ensure that justice is seen to be done on what transpired at the Accra Sports Stadium on May 9.
According to official records, 126 people lost their lives in the disaster which occurred after a titanic league match between arch rivals, Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.
President Kufuor said the nation is in crisis as regards the maintenance of law and order and urged them: “You should resist gangsterism with a reasonable force but should not take the law into your own hands.”
He also cautioned that the days when the ACDRs became an authority in the Police Service are gone and insisted that the Police Service should not be allowed to be politicised.
“Government is resolved to remove any traces of politicisation in the service. We do not seek favour from the service, so do not pander to the government for favours”, President Kufuor pointed out.
He said service personnel should rather be imbued with a sense of service to the nation and to people in authority.
The President assured them that he was determined to restore the image of the police, which has been left to degenerate over the years in the name of a revolution.
“We observe with regret that recruitment, promotion and other issues of the service fell prey to politicisation,” he said.
As a result, the police service lost its pride and was neglected.
What is even worse, the President said, was the behaviour of the so-called para-military agencies which subverted the powers of the police.
President Kufuor announced that the government is working hard to get assistance and logistic support for the police from the governments of South Africa, France and Nigeria and “I can assure you that it is only a matter of time for you to see the results.”
The IGP, Mr Owusu-Poku, described the President’s visit to the headquarters as a source of inspiration for the service.
He enumerated a lot of problems facing the service, including obsolete communication equipment, lack of telephones in some police stations, inadequate staffing position and lack of computers.
The IGP expressed concern about the unwarranted mob attacks on police stations in recent times and said the situation has become very unbearable for the service.
He assured the President that any breach or infraction of the regulations of the service by its personnel “will not be swept under the carpet but that the appropriate sanctions will be applied to maintain discipline and order”.
Earlier inaugurating the council, President Kufuor said the nation is in critical times after coming out of a history of a so-called revolution in which the rule of law was discarded.
He said if the society is to enjoy the rule of law and order, then, the experiences of members must be brought to bear on the way forward for the service.
“Your loyalty to the government should not be questionable”, President Kufuor told the members.
Mr da Rocha, on behalf of the members, assured the President that the council will work hard to enable the police to build bridges of friendship so that the citizenry does not see policemen as terrorising agents.
He further assured the President that the council will work to motivate the entire personnel to give of their best.