Police Chief Booted

The frosty relationship between the Northern Regional Minister, Moses Bukari Mabengba, and the Northern Regional Police Chief, DCOP George Tuffour, has resulted in the sudden transfer of the police boss. 

The immediate cause of the stalemate, which is directly linked to recent chieftaincy upheavals in Kpatinga in the Gushiegu District of the Northern Region, has reportedly affected the regional Crime Officer, DSP Mahama Arhin.   

Close sources revealed that DCOP Tuffour would be heading for the Upper East Region, where he once deputized as police chief, as substantive commander. He will be replaced by his former boss, DCOP Bright Oduro. 

DAILY GUIDE is unable to confirm where the crime officer will be transferred to but it has been gathered he may be heading to the Ashanti Region. 

Prior to this transfer, DAILY GUIDE gathered that Mr Mabengba, at a Regional Security Committee meeting, accused the police boss of supporting the NPP among other accusations he blatantly denied. 

Sources revealed that the remote cause of the transfer had to do with the objection of DCOP Tuffour to kowtow to political demands which he deemed unprofessional and a slap in the face of his outfit. 

This, coupled with several machinations by some of his subordinates who failed to comply with administrative directives and went ahead to write anonymous letters to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), could have culminated in his sudden transfer.  

DAILY GUIDE gathered that soon after assumption of office, DCOP Tuffour effected the transfer of personnel who had spent over two decades in the region in order to strengthen policing. 

The affected personnel, who were allegedly aligned to the ruling NDC, ganged up against him and accused him of charting an NPP agenda. His refusal to adhere to directives by some political leaders in the region was said to have sparked the transfer to the Upper East Region, with complaints that his continuous stay in the region was a threat to the NDC. 

When contacted, DCOP Tuffour claimed he was yet to be officially communicated to on the matter but indicated that he would have no qualms about his transfer from the region if it became necessary. 

According to him, his services were meant for all Ghanaians, noting that he did not join the service to be confined only to the Northern Region.

The Northern Region, since the assumption of the current NDC government, has witnessed a strenuous relationship between regional ministers and police chiefs there. 

Former Northern Regional Minister Stephen Sumani Nayina and COP Ofosu Mensah-Gyeabuor set the tone as the minister reportedly walked the police boss out from a REGSEC meeting.

The conduct of the minister attracted wild criticism, subsequently leading to COP Ofosu Mensah-Gyeabuor's transfer to Accra as Head of Police Welfare, a position he held until a recent shakeup in the Police Administration.

This was followed by ACP Angwubutoge Awuni's tenure which lasted barely a year but characterized by several disagreements as he claimed he was not going to allow his administration to be manipulated by any politician.

He categorically told the then Northern Regional Minister, Stephen Sumani Nayina, at a meeting that he was transferred to the region to protect lives and properties of all residents, regardless of their political affiliation.

After a few months in office and standing by his promise, a specially-designed agenda, DAILY GUIDE gathered, was allegedly adopted by some key NDC functionaries to undermine his performance and ensure that he was taken out of the region.

A case in point was the withdrawal of police officers from Kambatiak and Bankoni in the Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo district after the district failed to ration them. ACP Awuni stated he could not continue to keep hungry men on operational duties when they were supposed to be fed. 

Eventually, he was also transferred to pave way for DCOP George Tuffour.

DAILY GUIDE 's investigations revealed that senior members of the ruling government in the region had on countless instances tried to manipulate the police for the release of several persons who allegedly committed crimes and were arrested. Any police resistance had often incurred the wrath of the politicians who claimed some police personnel were undermining the current administration.

Highly-placed sources told DAILY GUIDE that the phenomenon was gradually crippling the operations of the Police Service in the region, leading to lawlessness as some perpetrators perceived themselves as above the law.

A cop who pleaded anonymity told DAILY GUIDE that crime in the region had now been given a political colour, cautioning that if care was not taken, the region would become ungovernable.

'We must not allow politicians to do our jobs for us; we are professionals- unbiased and must behave as such,' the cop remarked.

From Stephen Zoure, Tamale