Audio Attachment: Listen to Nana Asante Bediatuo
The Police have denied media reports that it raided the Headquarters of the New Patriotic Party last night and took away evidence the opposition party was piecing together to challenge the declaration of President John Mahama as winner of last week’s poll.
In a statement issued in Accra, the police said they conducted a search in the premises of the La Monte Guest House, near the NPP office and not the NPP’s office as reported in the media.
The statement said the police acted upon a tip-off that a group of persons were offloading boxes which were suspected to contain ammunition into the said house.
The police said no ammunition were found and so the officers conducting the search left without picking a thing.
Constitutional Lawyer Nana Asante Bediatuo however described the police’s claims as completely false.
He said over a hundred gun-toting police policemen stormed the building in Rambo-style, ordered about 30 young men who were imputing data into laptops to lie flat or be shot.
The police, Nana Asante told Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, then proceeded to ransack the building and took away the sheets of paper the laptops being used in complete violation of the law.
He dismissed attempts by the police to rely on Section 94 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Act 30) as constituting the basis for their action.
He explained the Section only applied to stolen goods and that once the matter in issue was not about stolen goods, the police needed a search warrant to enter the building – something they could not produce when asked.
According to him, the police told Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta who demanded a warrant that they didn’t need to produce one. The police also refused to identify themselves, neither did they wear identification tags as mandated by law, Nana Asante Bediatuo said.
He indicated a complaint will be lodged with the police.
Read below the full statement by the Ghana Police Service
The Ghana Police Service wishes to debunk allegations being carried by a section of the electronic media to the effect that a team or Police and Military personnel raided the Headquarters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Tuesday, 11th December 2012.
It was further alleged that on raiding the said premises, the team carried away a lot of materials and items, including computers and evidence being put together to fight their cause in the court.
The Police Service wishes to state emphatically that the said allegations are false and unfounded. The Police neither raided the NPP Headquarters nor carried any such items and document away.
The facts are that:
1.The Police had a hint that some macho men, numbering twenty (20) had arrived at a location near the Burkina Faso embassy at Asylum Down and were offloading arms into a house.
2.The team of security officers, taking cognizance of the times, quickly mobilized men to visit the place to establish the veracity of the allegation.
3.The team got there at about 5: 17pm and located the house and identified it to be La Monte Guest House.
4.The team entered the house and found about thirty (30) people inside the house.
5.The people were called together and the leader identified.
6.A team of security officers identified themselves to the inmates and inform them about their mission. The team of officers was then led to search the rooms.
7.No arms were found.
8.The team of officers then took leave of the people.
It must be noted that section 94 of Act 30/60 allows the Police, on reasonable suspicion, to enter any premises to conduct search.
There is therefore, no substance in the allegation that the team of security officer invaded the NPP Headquarters and carried computers and document away.
The Public are therefore entreated to dismiss the allegation as a piece of information intended to throw dust into the eyes of the public.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
The Police have denied media reports that it raided the Headquarters of the New Patriotic Party last night and took away evidence the opposition party was piecing together to challenge the declaration of President John Mahama as winner of last week’s poll.
In a statement issued in Accra, the police said they conducted a search in the premises of the La Monte Guest House, near the NPP office and not the NPP’s office as reported in the media.
The statement said the police acted upon a tip-off that a group of persons were offloading boxes which were suspected to contain ammunition into the said house.
The police said no ammunition were found and so the officers conducting the search left without picking a thing.
Constitutional Lawyer Nana Asante Bediatuo however described the police’s claims as completely false.
He said over a hundred gun-toting police policemen stormed the building in Rambo-style, ordered about 30 young men who were imputing data into laptops to lie flat or be shot.
The police, Nana Asante told Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, then proceeded to ransack the building and took away the sheets of paper the laptops being used in complete violation of the law.
He dismissed attempts by the police to rely on Section 94 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Act 30) as constituting the basis for their action.
He explained the Section only applied to stolen goods and that once the matter in issue was not about stolen goods, the police needed a search warrant to enter the building – something they could not produce when asked.
According to him, the police told Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta who demanded a warrant that they didn’t need to produce one. The police also refused to identify themselves, neither did they wear identification tags as mandated by law, Nana Asante Bediatuo said.
He indicated a complaint will be lodged with the police.
Read below the full statement by the Ghana Police Service
The Ghana Police Service wishes to debunk allegations being carried by a section of the electronic media to the effect that a team or Police and Military personnel raided the Headquarters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Tuesday, 11th December 2012.
It was further alleged that on raiding the said premises, the team carried away a lot of materials and items, including computers and evidence being put together to fight their cause in the court.
The Police Service wishes to state emphatically that the said allegations are false and unfounded. The Police neither raided the NPP Headquarters nor carried any such items and document away.
The facts are that:
1.The Police had a hint that some macho men, numbering twenty (20) had arrived at a location near the Burkina Faso embassy at Asylum Down and were offloading arms into a house.
2.The team of security officers, taking cognizance of the times, quickly mobilized men to visit the place to establish the veracity of the allegation.
3.The team got there at about 5: 17pm and located the house and identified it to be La Monte Guest House.
4.The team entered the house and found about thirty (30) people inside the house.
5.The people were called together and the leader identified.
6.A team of security officers identified themselves to the inmates and inform them about their mission. The team of officers was then led to search the rooms.
7.No arms were found.
8.The team of officers then took leave of the people.
It must be noted that section 94 of Act 30/60 allows the Police, on reasonable suspicion, to enter any premises to conduct search.
There is therefore, no substance in the allegation that the team of security officer invaded the NPP Headquarters and carried computers and document away.
The Public are therefore entreated to dismiss the allegation as a piece of information intended to throw dust into the eyes of the public.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
