Cops Face Trial• Over Jail Break

The Tema Police Command is taking a court action against two police personnel for alleged dereliction of duty leading to four prison inmates escaping from the Tema Community Two Police Station cell.

Sergeant Joseph Anokye with staff number 28660 and Doris Oppong Ababio P/WC2 with staff number 4177 are due for prosecution after they failed to produce the fugitives after the expiration of the mandatory 10-day period to have the escapees brought back to cell.

A source close to the Tema Police told DAILY GUIDE that the two police personnel were on duty when the four suspects allegedly escaped from custody.

The escapees are Alfred Kofi Adovor, Sumaila Adams, 18 years, David Kwabena Asampiana, 25, (who were on remand) and 18-year-old Simon Frimpong who was bailed but had no one to stand in as his surety.

Adovor, who is believed to be the ringleader of the escapees, was later fished out of his hideout at the BBC area of Community 2 in Tema while the three others are still on the run.

The source said the two police personnel had been served letters of formal proceedings against them; they are however at liberty to choose their own counsel.

The source further told this paper that the Police Administration was doing everything possible to ensure that some level of discipline and confidence was instilled in personnel of the Service.

The source stressed that no police officer would be protected from any act of indiscipline, adding that in this period of electioneering, it was important to see the Police Administration taking the necessary steps to win public confidence.

Last month, four inmates of the Tema Community Police Station cells escaped under bizarre circumstances.

Twenty inmates were in the cells at the time of the incident and four managed to escape.

It was stated that even though Sergeant Anokye was at post, he could not stop the jail-break since as he attempted to stop Adovor from escaping, the suspect gave him a hefty punch which instantly blinded him.

Sergeant Anokye and Doris Oppong, the officers on duty that fateful day, were given 10 working days to produce the escapees, and failure to do so would lead to their appearance before a Police Administrative Procedure to explain the circumstances that led to the escape of the suspects.

Sergeant Anokye was said to be at post on that day and at 5.00 am, as part of his duty routine, opened the cells door to have the dustbin emptied by a labourer.

As soon as the door was opened, some of the inmates rushed on the police officer and Adovor, who was much closer to the entrance, allegedly landed a punch on the face of the Sergeant, dazing him and thus making way for some of the inmates to escape. From Wisdom Peter Awuku, Tema