‘Check yourself’ – Angry Police chief fires Franklin Cudjoe

The commanding officer of the Formed Police Unit of the Ghana Police Service, Chief Superintendent Naa Hamsah Yakubu, has jabbed the Executive Director of policy think tank, IMANI Ghana, Franklin Cudjoe, saying he “must check himself”.

The officer’s comment comes after Franklin Cudjoe described the Police’s recent decision to suspend all motor vehicle checks as “absurd”.

“IGP, you may have the power to bend the rules but not all rules Sir. This act of yours if true is banditry, lawless and encourages plunder on our roads.” he noted.

But Chief Superintendent Naa Hamsah Yakubu, told the media on the sidelines of a Police press conference in Accra on Friday that, some organized groups had been unnecessarily criticizing the service for their performance over the years, yet chastise them when they takes steps to ensure quality policing service.

SP Naa Yakubu said “we have over the last few years been leading something they call corruption perception index and every time we are rated first; the most corrupt institution, and the media picks it up, when you monitor closely fingers are pointed at our personnel on the roads.”

He lamented that, “Don't we have the right as a human institution to also look at our operational methods, to regain our lost image? And you turn around just for political reasons to want to accuse us; then I think you need to observe yourself too.”

He expressed shock the Executive Director of the IMANI Ghana would criticize the Police when they try to improve upon their operations even though he had accused them of performing badly in the past.

“Franklin Cudjoe, I heard him comment about this and I think he needs to observe himself, because if you have always been in the forefront of accusing us as being the lead corrupt institution and we have reassigned ourselves and we are trying to redeem our image and you criticize the Police administration for putting things right, then I think that he is not right himself,” the officer said.

‘Police suspends vehicle checks’

The Police Service in a memo on Monday, October 3, ordered with immediate effect the suspension of all vehicle checks in the country .

It also said personnel are to cease the inspection of driver's licenses and vehicle documents. Signed by the Commissioner of Police, Ransford Moses Ninson, it directed personnel on highway patrol to limit their work to inspection of cars for drugs and ammunition, only while officers of the Motor Traffic and Transport Division (MTTD), are to be deployed only for traffic management duties.

There have been suggestions the decision by the police was politically motivated, but that has been rejected. Several motorists, particularly ‘trotro’ drivers, have often accused police officers on the road of unnecessary harassment for the purposes of extortion.

‘Police investigates leaked memo’

Meanwhile, the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, has launched investigations into the leakage of the internal memo from the Police Administration, that directed the heads of various units under the service on new policing arrangements.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana