The conduct of personnel of the Police Intelligent Directorate (PID), a hitherto obscure unit of the Ghana Police Service that was clawed into view recently, appears to be making the police a mere shadow of its former greatness in the eyes of residents in the Bono East region.
They wear fanciful shirts and jeans, display the multiple tattoos on their bodies, wear ear-rings and are always seen flexing their muscles in town and putting fear in residents as they allegedly conduct arbitrary arrests in the region, press men in the region alleged.
According to the press men a sizeable number of personnel of the regular police service are equally not happy about the operations of their colleagues working under the PID unit but are also afraid to speak out for fear of being victimised.
Some Police personnel, media practitioners and residents in Techiman, Nkoranza, Kintampo, Yeji, Prang and Atebubu allege that Chief Superintendent Saviour Ahiamadi, head of the PID in the Bono East region has been leading his “marauding gang” or allegedly commandeers them to visit all kinds of atrocities, without putting a human face, on innocent they suspect would cross their way in their line of duty.
“Who am I to talk about Mr. Saviour Ahiamadi and his boys? I would be a dead person the following day if I make any pronouncements about his activities here in the Bono region. In fact, he is even more powerful that the IGP himself, not to mention the Regional Police Commander?” one journalist in Techiman told our reporter on conditions of anonymity.
According to him, the PID personnel in the Bono East region appear to wield more powers than the Regional Security Council chaired by the Regional Minister, Kwasi Adu Gyan, because everybody seems to be afraid to call them to order and so they keep harassing and terrorising people any time they like.
A source at the Bono East Regional Police Command told the New Crusading GUIDE that Chief Superintendent Saviour Ahiamadi is currently nursing serious injuries he sustained from gun-shots during one of his operations in Wenchi.
“He went there with his boys to arrest just one person and when the said suspect tried to inquire from Mr. Ahiamadi why he was being arrested, especially without any warrant, he got angry and ordered his men to shoot at him”, our Police source revealed.
The source continued: “The alleged suspect managed to escape without being hit by any of the bullets but unfortunately for Chief Superintendent Saviour Ahiamadi, one of his own men mistakenly shot at him in the process and he fell down, screaming like a day-old baby. He was eventually taken to the Police Hospital in Accra for treatment and may be flown to South Africa for further treatment considering the severity of his injury.”
According to the source, there is uneasy calm within the ranks of the Bono East Regional Police Command as the activities of these PID personnel continue to undermine the integrity of the Police Service as well as the peace and security of the region.
A lot of radio presenters, especially morning show hosts, news reporters and other media personnel in the Bono East region, say even though they are very much aware of the alleged nefarious activities of personnel of the Police Intelligent Directorate (PID) of the Ghana Police Service, they are afraid to report or talk about them for fear of being haunted.
The Ghana Journalists Regional Chairman for Bono East, Bono and Ahafo Regions, Larry Paa Kwesi Moses, in an interview, said if indeed this is true then it is condemnable and asked the media not be afraid of in exercising their constitutional duties in bringing out the ills in society for actions to be taken.
“Even the Ghana Armed Forces, our soldiers, don’t do this so why should the Ghana Police Service, not a Police Force, be engaging in this criminality”, he stated.
“If they have genuine reasons why someone should be arrested, they should follow the due process and act according to what the law says and put the person before the Law Courts for prosecution. You don’t have any right or whatsoever to arrest someone, beat him up or open fire at him anyhow and subject people to all kinds brutalities as if we are in a banana republic”, he further said.
He called on the IGP to constitute a body to investigate the issue and bring the culprits to book as a matter of urgency.
