Top Police Officers Off the Hook For Flouting Police Rules

The Police Administration is refusing to take disciplinary action against certain senior officers who have had accidents whilst driving official vehicles themselves, instead of using qualified drivers as required by police service regulation.

Investigations revealed that since no strict disciplinary action had been taken against the indiscipline senior officers of late, some senior officers of the service have made it a point to rubbish the police regulations that state that only professional junior rank drivers were supposed to drive the senior officers, in especially the new Peugeot Vehicles.

At least this the impression highly respected Commissioners and other Senior Officers including the Commissioner of Police in Charge of Legal Department, Mr. Sam Awortwi and the Assistant Commissioner of Police in Charge of Bands, Mr. Charles Nimako have created.

Information gathered indicate that whilst the Ministry of the Interior was trying to squeeze water from stone to make it possible to add more vehicles to boost the work of the police service, these officers have manages to drive on their own, with some causing serious accidents that have reduced the number of police vehicles.

Sources close to the Police Service stated that recently Mr. Nimako, when traveling to Bolgatanga for his private assignment, abandoned the services of the professional drivers from the pool and picked an unprofessional one from the police band to chauffer him to his destination.

According to the sources, on their way back from the trip, the unprofessional driver sought permission to attend to other duties, so the car was left in the full control of Mr. Nimako.

Commissioner Nimako who was driving on his own at top speed had a horrible accident, which resulted in the complete damage of the vehicles.

When some police officers tried to raise objections against his irresponsible behaviour, he boasted at a band meeting that the Inspector General, Nana Owusu Nsiah could not dismiss him from the police service because they were bosom pals.

Sources said when the Commissioner of police in charge of Transport/ Services heard about the case and wanted to take disciplinary action against Mr Nimako, he was prevented by the powers that be in the police service.

The sources disclosed that there had been occasions when a police Tata bus with registration number GP 50 was spotted going to pick only one child of Mr. Nimako from the Mizpha International School to the house.

It is learnt that during the tenure of the former IGP, Peter Nanfuri, senior officers who were found driving official vehicles on their own were suspended whilst senior officers who drove official vehicles and crashed them were out-rightly dismissed from the police service.

However, this law took a different turn under the administration of Nana Owusu Nsiah.

When Mr. Awortwi crashed his official vehicle, about ten officers who had been interdicted for similar offences were called back into the police service since Nana Owusu Nsiah could not allow the dismiss of Mr. Awortwi.

Even though ¢ 500,000 was each being deducted from both Mr. Awortwi and Mr. Nimako's monthly salaries, it is not clear whether they could finish paying for the $42,000 Peugeot vehicles before they retire from the service since Mr. Awortwi is expected to retire next year while Mr. Nimaklo is expected to retire within three years.

Officials of the Ghana Police Service have confirmed the story.