Story: Mary Mensah
THE Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIGP) of the Ghana Police Service, Mr Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan, took over yesterday as acting IGP.
The outgoing IGP, Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, begins his official terminal leave prior to retirement and his deputy has been directed by President John Dramani Mahama to act until further notice.
Mr Alhassan was enlisted into the Service in 1979 as a Chief Inspector of Police, graduating from the Police College in 1980 as Assistant Superintendent of Police, with honours.
He has held many command appointments nationally and internationally. He has served as a career officer in all command levels from the field to the headquarters.
He has served as a staff instructor at the Police College, district commander, divisional commander and regional police commander in various parts of the country and before his appointment as DIGP, Mr Alhassan was the Director-General of Administration at the Police Headquarters.
He was once the Deputy Commissioner in charge of Police Operations at the Police Headquarters in 2003, having earlier served at the same place as Assistant Staff Officer to the IGP between 1981 and 1984 on two occasions.
His contribution to the development of the service includes a wide range of law enforcement advice, guidance, direction, as well as reforms and restructuring initiatives to the service and various national law enforcement agencies across the world.
He is widely credited with the introduction of neighbourhood watch policing (Community Policing) in Ghana in 1984, while as a district officer, the tent city policing concept in Tema as Regional Commander and the establishment of the Highway Patrol Unit at the Police HQ as the Deputy Commissioner Operations, as part of innovations to make the police more proactive, visible, accessible and responsive to community needs and crime trend in the country.
His initiative, good operational planning and innovation significantly contributed to the widely applauded police professional feats and crowd management standards achieved in recent high-profile public events in the country.
His international appointments and contributions have included various appointments with the United Nations and other international organisations.
He was appointed Interim United Nations Police Advisor to the UN Secretary-General at the UNHQ, New York in 2007, having been earlier appointed UN Police Commissioner for UN Mission in Liberia in 2005.
Between 1999 and 2003, Mr M. A. Alhassan was appointed Desk Officer at the Department of Peacekeeping Operations at the United Nations Headquarters, New York, responsible for Mission Management in Europe, Latin America and the Middle-East.
He also served as Station and District commander with the UN Mission in Namibia ( UNTAG) and International Police Task Force (IPTF) Weapon Instructor in Bosnia Herzegovina.
He has extensive legacies in the UN circles including the present reforms and restructuring initiatives of the Liberian National Police Education.
He successfully completed studies in National and International Security from the John Kennedy School, Harvard University, Boston USA.
He holds an MSc degree in Police Administration and Criminology from the University of Cardiff, UK and a BA degree in Political Science from the University of Ghana, Legon.
He has attended numerous management and leadership training programmes across the world as a resource person.
Between 1987 and 1999, he was a lecturer at the University of Ghana (Police Administration).
The acting IGP has made extensive presentations and research and write-up contributions to national and international seminars/workshops on varied policing areas including Ghana Police: Forces of Order; Community Policing in Ghana; Internal Crisis Management, Ghana Police Service Roles, Capabilities and Limitations, the Role of the United Nations Civilian Police in UN Peacekeeping Operations; Policing Election - Election Security, and many others.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Human Rights Activists
A HUMAN rights activist has dragged former President John Agyekum Kufour, President Yahaya Abdul-Aziz Jemus Junkung Jammeh of Gambia and the presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to the International Criminal Court.
According to the activist, the three men failed to act appropriately in the gruesome murder of 72 Ghanaians and eight Nigerians in the Gambia on July 22, 2005.
Mr Anthony Kwabena Abrebrese Rau, a Ghanaian resident in Humburg, Germany, indicated that he had evidence to prove that President Jammeh intensionally ordered the murder of the stowaways.
He said Mr Kufour, who was the president at the time, intentionally failed to have his Attorney General take immediate legal action against Mr Jammeh.
At a press briefing in Accra yesterday, Mr Rau said he had an eye witness who claimed that when Mr Kufour sent his then Foreign Minister, Nana Akufo-Addo, to meet Mr Jammeh to ascertain the facts about the incident, Mr Jammeh refused to meet him but rather told him that he was not prepared to meet any minister except President Kufour himself.
He said in this case, President Kufour should have taken international legal action against Mr Jammeh and he strongly believed that Mr Kufour misused his power to cover Mr Jammeh.
“Nana Akufo-Addo was the Minister for Foreign Affairs from April 2003-2007 and if his boss failed to work, he should have resigned and made a case against the Gambian President, Mr Jammeh. I suspect Nana Akufo-Addo also covered the others, which was a crime against the international human rights act,” he said.
He said under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, all human beings were born free and equal in dignity and rights and they were endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
He added that everyone had the right to effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
Mr Rau asserted that on June 8, 2011 he received a whole evidence which he thinks was good for prosecution and called on the International Criminal Court to use their good offices to prosecute the three men with the international law of crime.
“The one who gave me this information said it was not true that 44 Ghanaians were murdered in the Gambia, but rather 72 Ghanaians and eight Nigerians. He also alleged that the bodies which the present government requested from the Gambian some months ago and were buried in Ghana were not the rightful dead bodies.
My witness is prepared to show the International Criminal Court where the real bodies were buried,” he said.
According to the activist, the three men failed to act appropriately in the gruesome murder of 72 Ghanaians and eight Nigerians in the Gambia on July 22, 2005.
Mr Anthony Kwabena Abrebrese Rau, a Ghanaian resident in Humburg, Germany, indicated that he had evidence to prove that President Jammeh intensionally ordered the murder of the stowaways.
He said Mr Kufour, who was the president at the time, intentionally failed to have his Attorney General take immediate legal action against Mr Jammeh.
At a press briefing in Accra yesterday, Mr Rau said he had an eye witness who claimed that when Mr Kufour sent his then Foreign Minister, Nana Akufo-Addo, to meet Mr Jammeh to ascertain the facts about the incident, Mr Jammeh refused to meet him but rather told him that he was not prepared to meet any minister except President Kufour himself.
He said in this case, President Kufour should have taken international legal action against Mr Jammeh and he strongly believed that Mr Kufour misused his power to cover Mr Jammeh.
“Nana Akufo-Addo was the Minister for Foreign Affairs from April 2003-2007 and if his boss failed to work, he should have resigned and made a case against the Gambian President, Mr Jammeh. I suspect Nana Akufo-Addo also covered the others, which was a crime against the international human rights act,” he said.
He said under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, all human beings were born free and equal in dignity and rights and they were endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
He added that everyone had the right to effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
Mr Rau asserted that on June 8, 2011 he received a whole evidence which he thinks was good for prosecution and called on the International Criminal Court to use their good offices to prosecute the three men with the international law of crime.
“The one who gave me this information said it was not true that 44 Ghanaians were murdered in the Gambia, but rather 72 Ghanaians and eight Nigerians. He also alleged that the bodies which the present government requested from the Gambian some months ago and were buried in Ghana were not the rightful dead bodies.
My witness is prepared to show the International Criminal Court where the real bodies were buried,” he said.
A National Integrated Programme Developed
A NATIONAL integrated programme has been developed by the government to tackle drug trafficking and its related problems in the country.
The programme, developed in co-operation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, is meant to improve the ability of the country to respond appropriately to drug trafficking.
The Vice-President, Mr Akwesi Amissah-Arthur, announced this at the inauguration of the West African Commission on the Impact of Drug Trafficking on Governance, Security and Development in Accra yesterday.
The high-powered commission was convened by Mr Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN).
The commission is under the chairmanship of the former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo and members include distinguished leaders and individuals in West Africa including President Pedro Verona Pires of Cape Verde.
Mr Amissah Arthur said the value of the drug trade was a significant proportion of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and, therefore, had the ability to undermine national institutions, as the profit from the drug trade could fund and corrupt national institutions and subordinate them to the will of the traffickers.
He added that drug trafficking was, therefore, a threat to the well being, security and stability of nations.
It was in view of that the government would continue to collaborate with ECOWAS, the African Union (AU) and the UN to find a lasting solution to the problem, he said.
Mr Amissah Arthur said there was the need for countries to work closely with drug producer and consumer regions for the world to deal effectively with drug trafficking.
He underscored the need for the acquisition of accurate information on drugs, adding, ”we must make every effort to ensure that our youth are given the kind of help that reduces their vulnerability to drug pushers and diminish the risks they run in using drugs.”
He added that the government welcomed the initiative, which was taken by Mr Kofi Annan to raise awareness of the negative impact of drug trafficking in the sub-region.
He said the initiative had come at a crucial time when the countries in the sub-region were facing the threat of sustained instability due to the destructive activities and corrupting influence of drug traffickers.
For his part, Mr Kofi Annan said the massive surge in drug trafficking over the last decade presented a serious and growing threat to the region’s stability and development.
“Left unchecked, illegal drug trafficking could compromise the encouraging progress that West African nations have made in strengthening democracy and promoting human and economic development,” he added.
Former President Obasanjo said the illegal trade in drugs could cause political instability and social upheavals.
“The trade in illegal drugs has already caused devastation in other regions of the world. We must all work to prevent West Africa from experiencing the same fate. The commission looks forward to its urgent and important work,” he said.
The commission, which will publish a comprehensive report later this year, aims at developing evidence-based policy recommendations for political and civil society leaders to address drug trafficking; creating public awareness and ensuring political commitment to the issue, and promoting local and regional capacities to deal with drug trafficking.
The programme, developed in co-operation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, is meant to improve the ability of the country to respond appropriately to drug trafficking.
The Vice-President, Mr Akwesi Amissah-Arthur, announced this at the inauguration of the West African Commission on the Impact of Drug Trafficking on Governance, Security and Development in Accra yesterday.
The high-powered commission was convened by Mr Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN).
The commission is under the chairmanship of the former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo and members include distinguished leaders and individuals in West Africa including President Pedro Verona Pires of Cape Verde.
Mr Amissah Arthur said the value of the drug trade was a significant proportion of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and, therefore, had the ability to undermine national institutions, as the profit from the drug trade could fund and corrupt national institutions and subordinate them to the will of the traffickers.
He added that drug trafficking was, therefore, a threat to the well being, security and stability of nations.
It was in view of that the government would continue to collaborate with ECOWAS, the African Union (AU) and the UN to find a lasting solution to the problem, he said.
Mr Amissah Arthur said there was the need for countries to work closely with drug producer and consumer regions for the world to deal effectively with drug trafficking.
He underscored the need for the acquisition of accurate information on drugs, adding, ”we must make every effort to ensure that our youth are given the kind of help that reduces their vulnerability to drug pushers and diminish the risks they run in using drugs.”
He added that the government welcomed the initiative, which was taken by Mr Kofi Annan to raise awareness of the negative impact of drug trafficking in the sub-region.
He said the initiative had come at a crucial time when the countries in the sub-region were facing the threat of sustained instability due to the destructive activities and corrupting influence of drug traffickers.
For his part, Mr Kofi Annan said the massive surge in drug trafficking over the last decade presented a serious and growing threat to the region’s stability and development.
“Left unchecked, illegal drug trafficking could compromise the encouraging progress that West African nations have made in strengthening democracy and promoting human and economic development,” he added.
Former President Obasanjo said the illegal trade in drugs could cause political instability and social upheavals.
“The trade in illegal drugs has already caused devastation in other regions of the world. We must all work to prevent West Africa from experiencing the same fate. The commission looks forward to its urgent and important work,” he said.
The commission, which will publish a comprehensive report later this year, aims at developing evidence-based policy recommendations for political and civil society leaders to address drug trafficking; creating public awareness and ensuring political commitment to the issue, and promoting local and regional capacities to deal with drug trafficking.
Malaria Prevelance dropped in Ghana
Malaria prevalence in the country has dropped considerably from 86.8 per cent to 27.5 per cent, Dr Constance Bart-Plange, the Manager of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), has said
The achievement is partly attributed to the distribution of free insecticide treated nets to households throughout the country.
Addressing the opening session of the Media Malaria Advocacy Orientation for media practitioners in Accra yesterday, Dr Bart-Plange said a total of 11,443,691 mosquito treated nets had so far been distributed nationwide.
The meeting was organised by the NMCP, the John Hopkins University Centre for Communications Programmes and the Voices Against Malaria in partnership with the Ghana Media Malaria Advocacy Network (GMMAN).
The aim of the meeting was to ride on the back of the ongoing AFCON 2013 football season to improve upon the capacity of the media to enable journalists to sustain media advocacy malaria programming and the launch of the AFCON 2013 Goal, Malaria magazine.
It was also to direct efforts towards energising the media to increase their advocacy support for the programmes and actions in malaria management.
Dr Bart-Plange said almost 90 per cent of Ghanaian mothers of children under five years now knew the cause of malaria and were able to identify mosquito bite as being responsible for the disease.
That, she said, was a positive move to taking the right step in preventing the disease and properly treating it. “The NMCP is proud of the achievement,” she said.
Dr Bart-Plange called on the media and all partners to play their roles of providing and disseminating the required information that could enhance efforts to promote the adoption of the approved tools in preventing and treating malaria.
For his part, Mr Emmanuel Fiagbey, Country Director, John Hopkins University Centre for Communications Programme, said malaria killed a child every 60 seconds in Africa and 655,000 people worldwide every year.
He said malaria increased healthcare cost for governments and led to loss of working days, a situation which contributed to absenteeism and decreased productivity at the workplace.
Mr Fiagbey indicated that malaria contributed to reduction in internal mobility and damage to the potential growth sectors of the economy such as tourism and deterred foreign and local investors from moving their capital around.
According to him, it was estimated that Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could have been $100 billion higher today if malaria had been eliminated in the early 1960s.
He said a 10 per cent reduction in malaria cases was associated with 0.3 per cent higher annual growth of the economy of any country.
He said “any expenditure made in malaria prevention today is an investment in development for tomorrow, for the children saved today are surely the builders of tomorrow.”
Ms Vivian N. A. Aubyn said that there was a need to work together to reduce the social and economic impact of malaria in order to promote development.
She said fostering partnerships was a strategy of the National Malaria Control Programme in Ghana captured in the Malaria Strategy Document (2008-2015).
Ms Rosemary Ardayfio, Chairperson of GMMAN, said the purpose of the programme was to ride on the back of the ongoing African Cup of Nations 2013 football season to improve upon the capacity of the media in Ghana to enable journalists to sustain media advocacy for malaria programming.
The achievement is partly attributed to the distribution of free insecticide treated nets to households throughout the country.
Addressing the opening session of the Media Malaria Advocacy Orientation for media practitioners in Accra yesterday, Dr Bart-Plange said a total of 11,443,691 mosquito treated nets had so far been distributed nationwide.
The meeting was organised by the NMCP, the John Hopkins University Centre for Communications Programmes and the Voices Against Malaria in partnership with the Ghana Media Malaria Advocacy Network (GMMAN).
The aim of the meeting was to ride on the back of the ongoing AFCON 2013 football season to improve upon the capacity of the media to enable journalists to sustain media advocacy malaria programming and the launch of the AFCON 2013 Goal, Malaria magazine.
It was also to direct efforts towards energising the media to increase their advocacy support for the programmes and actions in malaria management.
Dr Bart-Plange said almost 90 per cent of Ghanaian mothers of children under five years now knew the cause of malaria and were able to identify mosquito bite as being responsible for the disease.
That, she said, was a positive move to taking the right step in preventing the disease and properly treating it. “The NMCP is proud of the achievement,” she said.
Dr Bart-Plange called on the media and all partners to play their roles of providing and disseminating the required information that could enhance efforts to promote the adoption of the approved tools in preventing and treating malaria.
For his part, Mr Emmanuel Fiagbey, Country Director, John Hopkins University Centre for Communications Programme, said malaria killed a child every 60 seconds in Africa and 655,000 people worldwide every year.
He said malaria increased healthcare cost for governments and led to loss of working days, a situation which contributed to absenteeism and decreased productivity at the workplace.
Mr Fiagbey indicated that malaria contributed to reduction in internal mobility and damage to the potential growth sectors of the economy such as tourism and deterred foreign and local investors from moving their capital around.
According to him, it was estimated that Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could have been $100 billion higher today if malaria had been eliminated in the early 1960s.
He said a 10 per cent reduction in malaria cases was associated with 0.3 per cent higher annual growth of the economy of any country.
He said “any expenditure made in malaria prevention today is an investment in development for tomorrow, for the children saved today are surely the builders of tomorrow.”
Ms Vivian N. A. Aubyn said that there was a need to work together to reduce the social and economic impact of malaria in order to promote development.
She said fostering partnerships was a strategy of the National Malaria Control Programme in Ghana captured in the Malaria Strategy Document (2008-2015).
Ms Rosemary Ardayfio, Chairperson of GMMAN, said the purpose of the programme was to ride on the back of the ongoing African Cup of Nations 2013 football season to improve upon the capacity of the media in Ghana to enable journalists to sustain media advocacy for malaria programming.
32,000 School Girls to Benefit from Cervical Cancer Vaccinations
THIRTY-TWO thousand schoolgirls in 13 districts in the Central and Northern regions are to benefit from cervical cancer vaccinations.
The beneficiaries, aged between nine and 11, would be given a three-phase vaccination exercise against cervical cancer, which is said to be the leading cause of cancer deaths among women.
At a press briefing in Accra yesterday, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Appiah Denkyira, said the MoH had received 64,000 doses of Human Papillovirus Vaccines (HPV) worth $8,289,408, to help prevent cervical cancer among women of reproductive age.
Cervical cancer ranks as the first most frequent cancer among women between the ages of 15 and 44 in Ghana.
The vaccines were provided by Axios of the USA through the Rural Women’s Initiative for Self-Empowerment (Ruwide).
On the theme, “Prevent cervical cancer, vaccinate the girl child”, all seven districts in the Central Region and six others in the Northern Region would benefit from the exercise.
The districts in the Central Region are Awutu-Senya, Awutu-Senya East, Cape Coast, Efutu, Ekumfi, Mfantseman and Agona West. Those in the Northern Region are East Gonja, Kumbungu, Mion, Savelugu-Nanton, Tolon and Yendi.
All the girls identified would be vaccinated three times and the vaccination exercise would begin from February 11 to 15, followed by the second exercise from March 18 to 22 and the third vaccination from September 23 to 27, 2013.
Dr Denkyira said the young girls were being targeted because it was assumed that at the age of nine and 11, the girls might not have had any sexual contact and, therefore, the vaccine would help to prevent them from contracting cervical cancer when they were initiated into sexual activities.
Cervical cancer is contracted when girls are initiated into sexual intercourse at an early stage or when they have unprotected sex with multiple partners or when one is infected with HPV, which is the virus that causes cervical cancer.
The young girls are being targeted and vaccinated before they have any sexual contact.
Explaining why the Central and Northern regions were chosen for the pilot programme, he said the 2010 Census showed that teenage pregnancy was rife in the Central Region, a situation which he said could lead to a lot of them having cervical cancer in future.
He said there was, therefore, the need to vaccinate the young ones before their first sexual contact.
Also the Northern Region, he explained, was chosen because the 2010 Census showed that sex was mostly delayed among young girls.
Therefore, he said the Northern Region was an idle location to immunise the girls.
Dr Dankyira said for the HPV vaccine to work best, “it is very important for adolescents to get all three doses long before sexual activity begins”.
Research, he said, had shown that the vaccine was highly effective against the commonest HPV types that cause cancer of the cervix, saying that it was only effective when all three shots were given at the required intervals.
The MoH, he said, was supporting the exercise with GH¢600,000, while an additional GH¢300,000 would be provided during the third phase of the vaccination in September this year.
The Executive Director of Ruwide, Ms Maria Don-Chebe, said her organisation, which sourced for the support, would assist rural women to be self-sufficient through skills training and development.
The beneficiaries, aged between nine and 11, would be given a three-phase vaccination exercise against cervical cancer, which is said to be the leading cause of cancer deaths among women.
At a press briefing in Accra yesterday, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Appiah Denkyira, said the MoH had received 64,000 doses of Human Papillovirus Vaccines (HPV) worth $8,289,408, to help prevent cervical cancer among women of reproductive age.
Cervical cancer ranks as the first most frequent cancer among women between the ages of 15 and 44 in Ghana.
The vaccines were provided by Axios of the USA through the Rural Women’s Initiative for Self-Empowerment (Ruwide).
On the theme, “Prevent cervical cancer, vaccinate the girl child”, all seven districts in the Central Region and six others in the Northern Region would benefit from the exercise.
The districts in the Central Region are Awutu-Senya, Awutu-Senya East, Cape Coast, Efutu, Ekumfi, Mfantseman and Agona West. Those in the Northern Region are East Gonja, Kumbungu, Mion, Savelugu-Nanton, Tolon and Yendi.
All the girls identified would be vaccinated three times and the vaccination exercise would begin from February 11 to 15, followed by the second exercise from March 18 to 22 and the third vaccination from September 23 to 27, 2013.
Dr Denkyira said the young girls were being targeted because it was assumed that at the age of nine and 11, the girls might not have had any sexual contact and, therefore, the vaccine would help to prevent them from contracting cervical cancer when they were initiated into sexual activities.
Cervical cancer is contracted when girls are initiated into sexual intercourse at an early stage or when they have unprotected sex with multiple partners or when one is infected with HPV, which is the virus that causes cervical cancer.
The young girls are being targeted and vaccinated before they have any sexual contact.
Explaining why the Central and Northern regions were chosen for the pilot programme, he said the 2010 Census showed that teenage pregnancy was rife in the Central Region, a situation which he said could lead to a lot of them having cervical cancer in future.
He said there was, therefore, the need to vaccinate the young ones before their first sexual contact.
Also the Northern Region, he explained, was chosen because the 2010 Census showed that sex was mostly delayed among young girls.
Therefore, he said the Northern Region was an idle location to immunise the girls.
Dr Dankyira said for the HPV vaccine to work best, “it is very important for adolescents to get all three doses long before sexual activity begins”.
Research, he said, had shown that the vaccine was highly effective against the commonest HPV types that cause cancer of the cervix, saying that it was only effective when all three shots were given at the required intervals.
The MoH, he said, was supporting the exercise with GH¢600,000, while an additional GH¢300,000 would be provided during the third phase of the vaccination in September this year.
The Executive Director of Ruwide, Ms Maria Don-Chebe, said her organisation, which sourced for the support, would assist rural women to be self-sufficient through skills training and development.
Cyber Security Strategy Developed for Ghana
THE Ministry of Communications is developing a cyber security strategy for Ghana that will prevent fraud on the Internet, the Director-General of the National Communications Authority, Mr Paarock Vanpercy, has said.
The strategy will include the establishment of a national computer emergency response team (CERT) to create security awareness among the ministries, departments and agencies and other government agencies.
Addressing the opening session of the West African Cybersecurity and Cybercrime workshop for West African countries in Accra yesterday, Mr Vanpercy said a cyber security policy document focused on areas such as legislative and regulatory framework, cyber security technology framework, culture of security and capacity building, among others.
The workshop, which was organised by the US Department of State and the Government of Ghana, was aimed at providing the tools and information to evaluate and improve the sub-region’s capacity to address cybersecurity challenges.
It was also intended to help develop a comprehensive and implementable cybercrime and security regulations in Africa.
Mr Vanpercy said it also focused on strategy implementation timeliness, specific initiatives, establishment of a national cyber security working group, a national cybersecurity centre and a national cybersecurity council.
According to him, the ever-increasing threat of cybercrime and its associated impact on the economic and social development of the respective countries were a source of concern.
He said ICT had become essential to the operations of governments, corporate institutions and individuals, but the benefits accruing from the growing access to the Internet was being undermined by those exploiting its capabilities to the detriment of others.
“With such widespread use of the Internet, the data that resides on and flows across networks varying from banking and security transactions to medical records, proprietary data and personal correspondence are at the mercy of persons who have made cybercrime their chosen field of endeavour,” said Mr Vanpercy.
The Director-General of Administration of the Ghana Police Service, Commissioner of Police (COP), Ms Rose Bio Atinga, said what was even more distressing about the growing incidence of cybercrime was the fact that the masterminds behind those criminal acts included children.
Regrettably, she said, “hacker tools” were easily available on the Internet and once downloaded, could be used by even novice computer users, thus expanding the population of possible wrongdoers.
Ms Atinga said the current trend included hacking into emails of buyers from Ghana and suppliers from Europe and Asia and obtaining valuable information which was used fraudulently.
She said the introduction of the law on cybercrimes in Ghana which allowed the police to prosecute offenders in the absence of victims or complainants would surely improve the performance of the Ghana Police Service in the arrest and prosecution of offenders.
The Head of the United States Information Service, Ms Jeanne Clarke, said the participants were to share their knowledge and experiences with colleagues from West Africa and to increase their expertise about a subject that was crucial to the security and economic development of the sub-region.
She said the United States, through the Department of State and Justice, had been providing training and technical assistance on cybersecurity in West Africa since 2006 and remained committed to helping the region to address the issue.
“If we do this, we enhance global security and create an economic and social environment that promotes the free flow of ideas and commerce. In sub-Saharan Africa, particulary here in West Africa, as wireless networks and broadband Internet access proliferate at a dizzying rate, nations are grappling with threats to this cyber environment ranging from computer hacking and sabotage to terrorism facilitated over the Internet to transnational crime,” she said.
The strategy will include the establishment of a national computer emergency response team (CERT) to create security awareness among the ministries, departments and agencies and other government agencies.
Addressing the opening session of the West African Cybersecurity and Cybercrime workshop for West African countries in Accra yesterday, Mr Vanpercy said a cyber security policy document focused on areas such as legislative and regulatory framework, cyber security technology framework, culture of security and capacity building, among others.
The workshop, which was organised by the US Department of State and the Government of Ghana, was aimed at providing the tools and information to evaluate and improve the sub-region’s capacity to address cybersecurity challenges.
It was also intended to help develop a comprehensive and implementable cybercrime and security regulations in Africa.
Mr Vanpercy said it also focused on strategy implementation timeliness, specific initiatives, establishment of a national cyber security working group, a national cybersecurity centre and a national cybersecurity council.
According to him, the ever-increasing threat of cybercrime and its associated impact on the economic and social development of the respective countries were a source of concern.
He said ICT had become essential to the operations of governments, corporate institutions and individuals, but the benefits accruing from the growing access to the Internet was being undermined by those exploiting its capabilities to the detriment of others.
“With such widespread use of the Internet, the data that resides on and flows across networks varying from banking and security transactions to medical records, proprietary data and personal correspondence are at the mercy of persons who have made cybercrime their chosen field of endeavour,” said Mr Vanpercy.
The Director-General of Administration of the Ghana Police Service, Commissioner of Police (COP), Ms Rose Bio Atinga, said what was even more distressing about the growing incidence of cybercrime was the fact that the masterminds behind those criminal acts included children.
Regrettably, she said, “hacker tools” were easily available on the Internet and once downloaded, could be used by even novice computer users, thus expanding the population of possible wrongdoers.
Ms Atinga said the current trend included hacking into emails of buyers from Ghana and suppliers from Europe and Asia and obtaining valuable information which was used fraudulently.
She said the introduction of the law on cybercrimes in Ghana which allowed the police to prosecute offenders in the absence of victims or complainants would surely improve the performance of the Ghana Police Service in the arrest and prosecution of offenders.
The Head of the United States Information Service, Ms Jeanne Clarke, said the participants were to share their knowledge and experiences with colleagues from West Africa and to increase their expertise about a subject that was crucial to the security and economic development of the sub-region.
She said the United States, through the Department of State and Justice, had been providing training and technical assistance on cybersecurity in West Africa since 2006 and remained committed to helping the region to address the issue.
“If we do this, we enhance global security and create an economic and social environment that promotes the free flow of ideas and commerce. In sub-Saharan Africa, particulary here in West Africa, as wireless networks and broadband Internet access proliferate at a dizzying rate, nations are grappling with threats to this cyber environment ranging from computer hacking and sabotage to terrorism facilitated over the Internet to transnational crime,” she said.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
National Health Insurance Authority adjusted its prices upwards
SERVICE providers under the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) are to enjoy upward adjustment of 26 per cent in their tariffs effective February 1, 2013, the Chief Executive of the NHIA, Mr Slyvester Mensah, has announced.
At a press briefing in Accra yesterday, Mr Mensah said prices of medicines on the NHIA list would also go up accordingly to make the service complete.
He said prices of medicines had increased on the market and the idea was to harmonise all the prices and fix a legitimate price under the NHIA medicine list.
Mr Mensah said the review had also resulted in the introduction of additional services under the scheme such as physiotherapy, cataract surgery with lens implant (including the cost of intraocular lens), CT Scan and MRI, as well as chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
He was, however, quick to explain that the chemotherapy and radiotherapy would come along with certain restrictions.
Mr Mensah said the increase in the tariffs would come as a relief to many health service providers, hospitals and other healthcare institutions and centres under the scheme after they had raised concerns about the increasing cost of health care.
He said in furtherance of the general upward adjustments, the scheme had adopted the Ghana Diagnostic Related Groupings (G-DRGs) for payment of the tariffs.
The G-DRG is a payment method in health insurance where related diagnoses are grouped together and the average cost of treatment in that group determined. Health service providers are, therefore, paid according to the diagnosis they give their clients.
Over the years, the providers have complained that the fee paid them by the NHIS was not consistent with price changes on the market.
Mr Mensah said following several appeals from the providers, the NHIS embarked on a review of the fees.
The review, which in itself is considered a highly technical endeavour according to the Chief Executive, was done with assistance from a group of experts and consultants in collaboration with health specialists and physicians in tertiary, secondary and primary hospitals.
He said it was projected that the modifications and inclusions of the G-DRG structure and the review process had resulted in a number of key changes to the existing structure.
Mr Mensah said today’s announcement was preceded by a comprehensive nationwide training programme which lasted for a whole year for healthcare providers, representatives of professional associations and scheme staff on the review to ensure a thorough understanding of the changes in order to guarantee a smooth implementation of the new tariff regime.
Mr Mensah expressed his appreciation to providers and stakeholders for their patience and support during the review process.
At a press briefing in Accra yesterday, Mr Mensah said prices of medicines on the NHIA list would also go up accordingly to make the service complete.
He said prices of medicines had increased on the market and the idea was to harmonise all the prices and fix a legitimate price under the NHIA medicine list.
Mr Mensah said the review had also resulted in the introduction of additional services under the scheme such as physiotherapy, cataract surgery with lens implant (including the cost of intraocular lens), CT Scan and MRI, as well as chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
He was, however, quick to explain that the chemotherapy and radiotherapy would come along with certain restrictions.
Mr Mensah said the increase in the tariffs would come as a relief to many health service providers, hospitals and other healthcare institutions and centres under the scheme after they had raised concerns about the increasing cost of health care.
He said in furtherance of the general upward adjustments, the scheme had adopted the Ghana Diagnostic Related Groupings (G-DRGs) for payment of the tariffs.
The G-DRG is a payment method in health insurance where related diagnoses are grouped together and the average cost of treatment in that group determined. Health service providers are, therefore, paid according to the diagnosis they give their clients.
Over the years, the providers have complained that the fee paid them by the NHIS was not consistent with price changes on the market.
Mr Mensah said following several appeals from the providers, the NHIS embarked on a review of the fees.
The review, which in itself is considered a highly technical endeavour according to the Chief Executive, was done with assistance from a group of experts and consultants in collaboration with health specialists and physicians in tertiary, secondary and primary hospitals.
He said it was projected that the modifications and inclusions of the G-DRG structure and the review process had resulted in a number of key changes to the existing structure.
Mr Mensah said today’s announcement was preceded by a comprehensive nationwide training programme which lasted for a whole year for healthcare providers, representatives of professional associations and scheme staff on the review to ensure a thorough understanding of the changes in order to guarantee a smooth implementation of the new tariff regime.
Mr Mensah expressed his appreciation to providers and stakeholders for their patience and support during the review process.
Six Members of a Syndicate Busted
SIX members of a syndicate have been arrested for allegedly trafficking young Ghanaian women and men to work as house-helps and shop attendants in Gulf countries.
Although the victims were promised attractive salaries of between $3,500 and $9,000 a month and free visas and tickets to those countries, some of them ended up being paid a paultry $100 a month.
They were also made to work to pay for their tickets and visa fees.
The suspects are Alhaji Dan-Liman, 49, of First Class Travel and Tours at Abossey Okai; Matthew Milla, 35, of Darcam Mission Travel and Tours at Anyaa; Jefferson Amos Albright, 30, a Liberian, and Mitchel Berchie,30, both of Starwell African Recruitment Agency.
The rest are Georgina Adjei, 32, of Georgina Ventures at Ashiaman and Francisca Aku Begbezena, 30, a teacher who acts as an agent by going round churches and other places to recruit young people.
So far, nine women have been rescued from Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Qatar and they are currently assisting the police in their investigations.
The police suspect that more than 1,000 women and men who were sent to those countries under similar circumstances are being subjected to inhuman treatment.
Reports made by the victims to the police spoke of torture and inhuman treatment, resulting in the death of some of them.
According to the reports, some of the victims were made to work without pay, while others were treated like dogs, as food was thrown on the ground for them to pick and eat.
Some of the victims were also said to have been used as sex slaves.
Others were made to sleep in small rooms on roof tops where there was no ventilation. Some of the rooms were so small that the victims had to bend down before they could enter to rest or sleep.
Explaining the modus operandi of the syndicate, the Director-General of the CID, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr Prosper Agblor, told the Daily Graphic that the syndicate ran radio programmes and advertisements, visited churches and attended social gatherings where they distributed fliers to woo people to go and work in those countries.
According to him, more than 20 young men and women recruited by the syndicate and other tour companies travelled on a weekly basis to the Gulf countries to seek greener pastures.
On arrival in those countries, their passports, mobile phones and luggage were taken from them, thereby making it extremely difficult for them to call back home and report to any authority the inhuman treatment meted to them.
Mr Agblor said the victims were made to work for several hours without break, after which they were given only a morsel of Syrian bread as food for the day.
He said some of the girls were forcibly turned into sex slaves for their masters to sleep with at will.
They were also given uniforms to distinguish them from other people in their host countries, a situation which made it very difficult for them to escape.
That was because anyone who saw them in the areas where they worked identified them as house-helps from a particular agency.
The people would, therefore, cause their arrest for them to be returned to the labour or recruiting agencies.
According to Mr Agblor, some of the girls were made to work for families in turns — a week with a family and another week with another family.
At the end of the month, the victims were paid nothing because of the employment rules which demanded that workers could only be paid by families after working for them for a minimum of one month.
He said those rescued were a bit enlightened so they demanded to be sent back home because they could not stand the situation any longer.
He said it was when they had decided to return home that they were informed that their tickets and visas had been paid for by the recruiting agencies and, therefore, they had to work to refund such payments.
In Bahrain, for example, a Ghanaian pastor had to intervene to secure the release of some of the victims.
Although the victims were promised attractive salaries of between $3,500 and $9,000 a month and free visas and tickets to those countries, some of them ended up being paid a paultry $100 a month.
They were also made to work to pay for their tickets and visa fees.
The suspects are Alhaji Dan-Liman, 49, of First Class Travel and Tours at Abossey Okai; Matthew Milla, 35, of Darcam Mission Travel and Tours at Anyaa; Jefferson Amos Albright, 30, a Liberian, and Mitchel Berchie,30, both of Starwell African Recruitment Agency.
The rest are Georgina Adjei, 32, of Georgina Ventures at Ashiaman and Francisca Aku Begbezena, 30, a teacher who acts as an agent by going round churches and other places to recruit young people.
So far, nine women have been rescued from Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Qatar and they are currently assisting the police in their investigations.
The police suspect that more than 1,000 women and men who were sent to those countries under similar circumstances are being subjected to inhuman treatment.
Reports made by the victims to the police spoke of torture and inhuman treatment, resulting in the death of some of them.
According to the reports, some of the victims were made to work without pay, while others were treated like dogs, as food was thrown on the ground for them to pick and eat.
Some of the victims were also said to have been used as sex slaves.
Others were made to sleep in small rooms on roof tops where there was no ventilation. Some of the rooms were so small that the victims had to bend down before they could enter to rest or sleep.
Explaining the modus operandi of the syndicate, the Director-General of the CID, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr Prosper Agblor, told the Daily Graphic that the syndicate ran radio programmes and advertisements, visited churches and attended social gatherings where they distributed fliers to woo people to go and work in those countries.
According to him, more than 20 young men and women recruited by the syndicate and other tour companies travelled on a weekly basis to the Gulf countries to seek greener pastures.
On arrival in those countries, their passports, mobile phones and luggage were taken from them, thereby making it extremely difficult for them to call back home and report to any authority the inhuman treatment meted to them.
Mr Agblor said the victims were made to work for several hours without break, after which they were given only a morsel of Syrian bread as food for the day.
He said some of the girls were forcibly turned into sex slaves for their masters to sleep with at will.
They were also given uniforms to distinguish them from other people in their host countries, a situation which made it very difficult for them to escape.
That was because anyone who saw them in the areas where they worked identified them as house-helps from a particular agency.
The people would, therefore, cause their arrest for them to be returned to the labour or recruiting agencies.
According to Mr Agblor, some of the girls were made to work for families in turns — a week with a family and another week with another family.
At the end of the month, the victims were paid nothing because of the employment rules which demanded that workers could only be paid by families after working for them for a minimum of one month.
He said those rescued were a bit enlightened so they demanded to be sent back home because they could not stand the situation any longer.
He said it was when they had decided to return home that they were informed that their tickets and visas had been paid for by the recruiting agencies and, therefore, they had to work to refund such payments.
In Bahrain, for example, a Ghanaian pastor had to intervene to secure the release of some of the victims.
Customs to Introduce innovations in its operations.
This year’s International Customs Day was celebrated yesterday with a call on the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to introduce innovations in customs processes and procedures to enhance revenue collection and facilitate trade.
The Commissioner General of the GRA, Mr George Blankson, who made the call at the event in Accra, said as part of efforts to increase revenue generation and facilitate trade, it was important for the Customs Division to ease border congestion, ensure smooth movement of both human and vehicular traffic and protect citizens from dangerous and harmful products.
In a speech read on his behalf, Mr Blankson said such innovations should be underpinned by a high sense of unity of purpose and constant dialogue to resolve any impediments to international trade.
The International Customs Day is celebrated on January 26 every year by the customs fraternity. The theme for this year’s celebration is: “Innovation for customs progress”.
The day also gives customs an opportunity to honour its dedicated and hardworking officers, as well as other stakeholders who together occupy unique and important positions in the facilitation of trade and movement of people.
The Commissioner General indicated that the impressive record of performance of the GRA, Customs Division was well acknowledged.
That, he said, explained why Ghana had been selected to host the 18th World Customs Organisation Regional Conference of Director Generals in Central and West Africa region in March, this year.
For his part, the Commissioner, Customs Division of the GRA, Major General Carl Modey, said for two years running, the performance of customs had been excellent.
He said the division was embarking on an image cleansing exercise to weed out all miscreants, adding that the division was committed to honest and genuine business.
In a message, the Secretary General of World Customs Organisation, Mr Kunio Mikuriya, said innovation was a key driver for sustainable customs reforms and modernisation.
He said innovation was not just about designing and implementing something new but it was also about continuing investment in all aspects of customs work, including its human capital.
Mr Mikuriya said innovation itself could be spurred on by many things, including evidence-based research, thought-provoking dialogue, knowledge sharing, solution-driven development, modern management practices, the use of new technologies, dynamic partnerships among all stakeholders, excellent customer relations, and the desire to do better through creative thinking.
The Marketing and Corporate Affairs Manager of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) in Tema, Mr Kumi Adjei-Sam, in a solidarity message said GPHA and the Customs Division of the GRA had held several meetings to ensure that key challenges that confronted their clients were addressed.
He said one of the key outcomes of those interactions was the connection of all state institutions involved in permit issuances for clearance of items through the port to the GCNET platform.
The Commissioner General of the GRA, Mr George Blankson, who made the call at the event in Accra, said as part of efforts to increase revenue generation and facilitate trade, it was important for the Customs Division to ease border congestion, ensure smooth movement of both human and vehicular traffic and protect citizens from dangerous and harmful products.
In a speech read on his behalf, Mr Blankson said such innovations should be underpinned by a high sense of unity of purpose and constant dialogue to resolve any impediments to international trade.
The International Customs Day is celebrated on January 26 every year by the customs fraternity. The theme for this year’s celebration is: “Innovation for customs progress”.
The day also gives customs an opportunity to honour its dedicated and hardworking officers, as well as other stakeholders who together occupy unique and important positions in the facilitation of trade and movement of people.
The Commissioner General indicated that the impressive record of performance of the GRA, Customs Division was well acknowledged.
That, he said, explained why Ghana had been selected to host the 18th World Customs Organisation Regional Conference of Director Generals in Central and West Africa region in March, this year.
For his part, the Commissioner, Customs Division of the GRA, Major General Carl Modey, said for two years running, the performance of customs had been excellent.
He said the division was embarking on an image cleansing exercise to weed out all miscreants, adding that the division was committed to honest and genuine business.
In a message, the Secretary General of World Customs Organisation, Mr Kunio Mikuriya, said innovation was a key driver for sustainable customs reforms and modernisation.
He said innovation was not just about designing and implementing something new but it was also about continuing investment in all aspects of customs work, including its human capital.
Mr Mikuriya said innovation itself could be spurred on by many things, including evidence-based research, thought-provoking dialogue, knowledge sharing, solution-driven development, modern management practices, the use of new technologies, dynamic partnerships among all stakeholders, excellent customer relations, and the desire to do better through creative thinking.
The Marketing and Corporate Affairs Manager of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) in Tema, Mr Kumi Adjei-Sam, in a solidarity message said GPHA and the Customs Division of the GRA had held several meetings to ensure that key challenges that confronted their clients were addressed.
He said one of the key outcomes of those interactions was the connection of all state institutions involved in permit issuances for clearance of items through the port to the GCNET platform.
Man shot and killed a welder at Oyarifa
A 36 year-old man who allegedly shot and killed a welder at Oyarifa, near Adenta on Sunday afternoon has been arrested by the Madina Police
The suspect, Eric Yaw Asantem who operates a car rental service, at one of the hotels in Accra, after shooting the deceased, Yaw Acheampong, aged 25, on the forehead at close range turned himself over to the police.
According to the Madina Divisional Crime Officer, Superintendent Amos Yelisong the incident happened at Oyarifa gravel pit area, where both the suspect lived. He said the suspect and his wife, Mrs Rosemary Abena Asante has been married for the past I2 years, without an issue.
He said that difficulty generated misunderstanding between the couple. The suspect later married a second wife and had two children with her.
The Crime Officer said about three months ago, after a heated argument, the suspect packed all his belongings and left the house to live with the second wife at Madina.
He said on that fateful day, the wife left the house early in the morning for Amasaman to visit a relative and left the keys to the house to a neighbour.
While at Amasaman, the woman called the Acheampong and two other youngmen, who had been running errands for her to collect the keys from the neighbour and clean the house for her.
Supt Yelisong said the suspect in the company of a friend drove to the house in the afternoon to check on his dogs and was annoyed when he found the boys in the house. Therefore, ordered them to leave and they complied.
He asserted that as they were leaving the house, the suspect realised that the Acheampong had locked the main door to the house and was taking the keys away.The suspect ordered Acheampong so he ordered him to hand over the keys, but he refused with the explantation that the suspect wife had told them to hand over the keys to the neighbour after the work so they would do so.
Supt Yelisong said the suspect, insisted on collecting the key but Acheampong called the suspect wife on phone and told him about what had happened. The wife, Mrs Asare instructed Acheampong not to give the keys to the man because her husband had also got his set of keys to the house.
He said at that stage the suspect became annoyed, entered his car and beckoned the deceased to come closer. As soon as Acheampong got to the window of the car, the suspect, fired and shot him on his foreheads, killing him instantly.
He said the two youngmen took to their heels and raised an alarm, but the suspect sensing danger drove off in his Toyota Highlander vehicle to the Madina police where he lodged a complaint.
The Crime Officer said the suspect would be arraigned before court on Wednesday on a provisional charge of murder.
The suspect, Eric Yaw Asantem who operates a car rental service, at one of the hotels in Accra, after shooting the deceased, Yaw Acheampong, aged 25, on the forehead at close range turned himself over to the police.
According to the Madina Divisional Crime Officer, Superintendent Amos Yelisong the incident happened at Oyarifa gravel pit area, where both the suspect lived. He said the suspect and his wife, Mrs Rosemary Abena Asante has been married for the past I2 years, without an issue.
He said that difficulty generated misunderstanding between the couple. The suspect later married a second wife and had two children with her.
The Crime Officer said about three months ago, after a heated argument, the suspect packed all his belongings and left the house to live with the second wife at Madina.
He said on that fateful day, the wife left the house early in the morning for Amasaman to visit a relative and left the keys to the house to a neighbour.
While at Amasaman, the woman called the Acheampong and two other youngmen, who had been running errands for her to collect the keys from the neighbour and clean the house for her.
Supt Yelisong said the suspect in the company of a friend drove to the house in the afternoon to check on his dogs and was annoyed when he found the boys in the house. Therefore, ordered them to leave and they complied.
He asserted that as they were leaving the house, the suspect realised that the Acheampong had locked the main door to the house and was taking the keys away.The suspect ordered Acheampong so he ordered him to hand over the keys, but he refused with the explantation that the suspect wife had told them to hand over the keys to the neighbour after the work so they would do so.
Supt Yelisong said the suspect, insisted on collecting the key but Acheampong called the suspect wife on phone and told him about what had happened. The wife, Mrs Asare instructed Acheampong not to give the keys to the man because her husband had also got his set of keys to the house.
He said at that stage the suspect became annoyed, entered his car and beckoned the deceased to come closer. As soon as Acheampong got to the window of the car, the suspect, fired and shot him on his foreheads, killing him instantly.
He said the two youngmen took to their heels and raised an alarm, but the suspect sensing danger drove off in his Toyota Highlander vehicle to the Madina police where he lodged a complaint.
The Crime Officer said the suspect would be arraigned before court on Wednesday on a provisional charge of murder.
Fake Doctor Arrested by police in Adabraka
A 36-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly parading himself as a doctor form the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) and succeeded in defrauding several people of monies running into thousands of both local and foreign currencies.
Among his victims are wine shop owners, car dealers, dealers in computer, air conditioners, mobile phone dealers and operators of boutiques and supermarkets.
Currently, there are more than 20 cases of fraud lodged against him at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) headquarters and some local police stations.
The suspect, Alvin Fiifi Mensah, alias Dr Collins Amoah, who had been on the police wanted list for some years now, was finally arrested at a Guest House within the Regimanuel Grey Estates on the Spintex Road on Tuesday, January 22, 20I3 following a tip off.
At the time of his arrest he was allegedly found to be in the room with a woman.
A number of his victims thronged the Adabraka Police Station in Accra upon hearing of his arrest.
The Director-General of the CID, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr Prosper Agblor, immediately directed the transfer of the suspect to the CID headquarters for further investigations.
According to the Adabraka District Crime Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mr Ebenezer Nketsiah, the suspect was arrested, following complaints made by five women who dealt in wine and other foreign drinks.
He said the five victims lost various amounts totalling GHc50,000 to the suspect.
Mr Nketiah said the owner of a wine shop at the 37 Military Hospital area lost GH¢32,000, Say Cheers Wine Shop, GH¢4,4I0, Mawu Drinkables at West Legon, GH¢I0,I00, a wine shop at Dzorwulu GH¢2,!52.
He explained that the suspect, who often introduced himself as Dr Collins Amoah, usually operated every Friday moving from one wine shop to the other in Accra.
According to Mr Nketiah, the suspect would often take a quantity of drinks from his unsuspecting victims for a party by doctors at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
The suspect, he said, would then issue post-dated cheques to his victims after collecting boxes of wine and champaigne.
Mr Nketiah said the cheques were often dishonoured upon presentation at the banks.
He said the suspect allegedly admitted committing the offence in his caution statement to the police and indicated that after collecting the drinks he (suspect) sold them at cheaper prices.
Among his victims are wine shop owners, car dealers, dealers in computer, air conditioners, mobile phone dealers and operators of boutiques and supermarkets.
Currently, there are more than 20 cases of fraud lodged against him at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) headquarters and some local police stations.
The suspect, Alvin Fiifi Mensah, alias Dr Collins Amoah, who had been on the police wanted list for some years now, was finally arrested at a Guest House within the Regimanuel Grey Estates on the Spintex Road on Tuesday, January 22, 20I3 following a tip off.
At the time of his arrest he was allegedly found to be in the room with a woman.
A number of his victims thronged the Adabraka Police Station in Accra upon hearing of his arrest.
The Director-General of the CID, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr Prosper Agblor, immediately directed the transfer of the suspect to the CID headquarters for further investigations.
According to the Adabraka District Crime Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mr Ebenezer Nketsiah, the suspect was arrested, following complaints made by five women who dealt in wine and other foreign drinks.
He said the five victims lost various amounts totalling GHc50,000 to the suspect.
Mr Nketiah said the owner of a wine shop at the 37 Military Hospital area lost GH¢32,000, Say Cheers Wine Shop, GH¢4,4I0, Mawu Drinkables at West Legon, GH¢I0,I00, a wine shop at Dzorwulu GH¢2,!52.
He explained that the suspect, who often introduced himself as Dr Collins Amoah, usually operated every Friday moving from one wine shop to the other in Accra.
According to Mr Nketiah, the suspect would often take a quantity of drinks from his unsuspecting victims for a party by doctors at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
The suspect, he said, would then issue post-dated cheques to his victims after collecting boxes of wine and champaigne.
Mr Nketiah said the cheques were often dishonoured upon presentation at the banks.
He said the suspect allegedly admitted committing the offence in his caution statement to the police and indicated that after collecting the drinks he (suspect) sold them at cheaper prices.
Killer Driver Granted Bail
THE truck driver alleged to have crushed a taxi at the Okponglo Junction and instantly killed two Level I00 students of the University of Ghana, Legon, has been granted bail by the Madina District Magistrate Court.
Kwaku Ababio, 47, who made his first appearance before the court was granted bail in the sum GH¢15,000 with two sureties, one of which is to be justified.
The Legon Police Command which arrested the driver arraigned him on charges of inconsiderate driving and negligently causing harm.
Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Agnes Boafo told the court that on Friday, January 18, 2013, at about 1:30 a.m., the taxi driver, Gilbert Darko, 25, was in charge a Kia Avera taxi, with registration number GE 645 X, from Okponglo towards the Legon campus of the University of Ghana with two students on board.
Ababio, she said, was also driving a Mercedes Benz refuse truck, with registration number GE 4707-12, from Madina towards the Tetteh Quarshie Roundabout when the two cars collided in the Okponglo traffic box.
The occupants of the taxi, namely, Lordina Fobih and Deborah Akosua-Denkyiraa Benaye, both 19, sustained serious injuries and were rushed to the 37 Military Hospital where they were pronounced dead on arrival.
According to Chief Inspector Boafo, Darko who also sustained severe injuries is, however, on admission at the 37 Military Hospital while the bodies of the deceased had been deposited in the mortuary of the same hospital.
The Magistrate, Mariama Samnio admitted the accused to bail, while the docket has been forwarded to the Attorney-General’s Department for advice.
The Daily Graphic on January I9 , 20I3, carried the tragic story of the two female students of the University of Ghana, Legon, as having died in an accident at Okponglo Junction when the taxi on which they were travelling collided with a refuse truck when the amber lights of the six traffic lights were blinking simultaneously.
The blinking of the amber lights meant that drivers should drive cautiously, since any of them could cross the intersection.
Lordina and Deborah who were residents of the Elizabeth Sey Frances Hall, were said to be returning to the campus after socialisation when the incident occurred.
Lordina had been identified as the daughter of Professor Dominic Fobih, a former Minister for Lands, Mines and Forestry.
mary.mensah@graphic.com.gh
Kwaku Ababio, 47, who made his first appearance before the court was granted bail in the sum GH¢15,000 with two sureties, one of which is to be justified.
The Legon Police Command which arrested the driver arraigned him on charges of inconsiderate driving and negligently causing harm.
Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Agnes Boafo told the court that on Friday, January 18, 2013, at about 1:30 a.m., the taxi driver, Gilbert Darko, 25, was in charge a Kia Avera taxi, with registration number GE 645 X, from Okponglo towards the Legon campus of the University of Ghana with two students on board.
Ababio, she said, was also driving a Mercedes Benz refuse truck, with registration number GE 4707-12, from Madina towards the Tetteh Quarshie Roundabout when the two cars collided in the Okponglo traffic box.
The occupants of the taxi, namely, Lordina Fobih and Deborah Akosua-Denkyiraa Benaye, both 19, sustained serious injuries and were rushed to the 37 Military Hospital where they were pronounced dead on arrival.
According to Chief Inspector Boafo, Darko who also sustained severe injuries is, however, on admission at the 37 Military Hospital while the bodies of the deceased had been deposited in the mortuary of the same hospital.
The Magistrate, Mariama Samnio admitted the accused to bail, while the docket has been forwarded to the Attorney-General’s Department for advice.
The Daily Graphic on January I9 , 20I3, carried the tragic story of the two female students of the University of Ghana, Legon, as having died in an accident at Okponglo Junction when the taxi on which they were travelling collided with a refuse truck when the amber lights of the six traffic lights were blinking simultaneously.
The blinking of the amber lights meant that drivers should drive cautiously, since any of them could cross the intersection.
Lordina and Deborah who were residents of the Elizabeth Sey Frances Hall, were said to be returning to the campus after socialisation when the incident occurred.
Lordina had been identified as the daughter of Professor Dominic Fobih, a former Minister for Lands, Mines and Forestry.
mary.mensah@graphic.com.gh
8,964 Inmates of various Psychiatric hospital registered
A TOTAL of 8,964 inmates of the various psychiatric institutions in the country have been registered onto the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) as part of efforts to extend coverage of the scheme to various vulnerable groups across the country.
Additionally 1,438 patients in leprosaria nationwide have also been registered.
The Director of Operations at the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr Anthony Gingong, announced this at the Pantang Psychiatric Hospital on Tuesday when 401 inmates were presented with their identification cards.
He indicated that over 53,000 beneficiaries of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme had already been registered onto the scheme.
He said according to the NHIA 2011 annual report, 60 per cent of the entire subscriber base of the NHIS was made up of the exempt category — under 18-year-olds, indigents, above 70-year-olds, among others.
Mr Gingong noted that one of the reasons the NHIS was set up was to address inequity when it came to financial access to health care in the country, noting that although the NHIS was a social arrangement to reduce poverty, it was realised that a key section of the public, including mental patients, was not adequately covered under the scheme.
He expressed confidence that with the enrolment of that category of the public onto the NHIS and the coming into force of the new NHIA Law, Act 852, people with mental challenges would also have their healthcare needs addressed.
Mr Gingong called for a change in attitude towards mental health patients, adding that mentally challenged patients suffered so much stigmatisation at the hands of the public, sometimes leading to their needs being overlooked.
He revealed that although the cost of the core treatment of mental illness was borne by the government, patients were left on their own when they contracted other common ailments such as malaria and cholera.
According to him, Act 852 had room for mental health.
Contrary to the normal practice whereby newly registered NHIS subscribers waited for about three months before accessing health care under the scheme, Mr Gingong said, the “inmates can start benefiting from the card right away. There is no waiting period for this”.
He revealed that 2013 would be a busy year for the NHIA, as the authority would undertake major programmes such as the instant issuance of biometric ID cards, nation-wide roll-out of capitation and the commencement of electronic claims processing.
A psychiatric specialist at the Pantang Hospital, Dr Frank Baning, praised the NHIA for the move and called for more collaboration between the two institutions.
He bemoaned the high level of stigmatisation suffered by mental patients and expressed worry about some sorry scenes at so-called healing and prayer camps where many mentally ill patients were sent.
According to him, some of the patients returned from those camps worse than they were and said although the camps were not the right places for many of the patients, doctors were compelled to work with them because of financial problems suffered by mental health practitioners and hospitals.
Dr Baning said a change of attitude towards persons with mental ailments would go a long way to defuse the high level of stigma attached to the condition.
In his view, “mental health should not be looked at in isolation” and called on health policy makers to ensure “more integration in the management of health”.
Additionally 1,438 patients in leprosaria nationwide have also been registered.
The Director of Operations at the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr Anthony Gingong, announced this at the Pantang Psychiatric Hospital on Tuesday when 401 inmates were presented with their identification cards.
He indicated that over 53,000 beneficiaries of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme had already been registered onto the scheme.
He said according to the NHIA 2011 annual report, 60 per cent of the entire subscriber base of the NHIS was made up of the exempt category — under 18-year-olds, indigents, above 70-year-olds, among others.
Mr Gingong noted that one of the reasons the NHIS was set up was to address inequity when it came to financial access to health care in the country, noting that although the NHIS was a social arrangement to reduce poverty, it was realised that a key section of the public, including mental patients, was not adequately covered under the scheme.
He expressed confidence that with the enrolment of that category of the public onto the NHIS and the coming into force of the new NHIA Law, Act 852, people with mental challenges would also have their healthcare needs addressed.
Mr Gingong called for a change in attitude towards mental health patients, adding that mentally challenged patients suffered so much stigmatisation at the hands of the public, sometimes leading to their needs being overlooked.
He revealed that although the cost of the core treatment of mental illness was borne by the government, patients were left on their own when they contracted other common ailments such as malaria and cholera.
According to him, Act 852 had room for mental health.
Contrary to the normal practice whereby newly registered NHIS subscribers waited for about three months before accessing health care under the scheme, Mr Gingong said, the “inmates can start benefiting from the card right away. There is no waiting period for this”.
He revealed that 2013 would be a busy year for the NHIA, as the authority would undertake major programmes such as the instant issuance of biometric ID cards, nation-wide roll-out of capitation and the commencement of electronic claims processing.
A psychiatric specialist at the Pantang Hospital, Dr Frank Baning, praised the NHIA for the move and called for more collaboration between the two institutions.
He bemoaned the high level of stigmatisation suffered by mental patients and expressed worry about some sorry scenes at so-called healing and prayer camps where many mentally ill patients were sent.
According to him, some of the patients returned from those camps worse than they were and said although the camps were not the right places for many of the patients, doctors were compelled to work with them because of financial problems suffered by mental health practitioners and hospitals.
Dr Baning said a change of attitude towards persons with mental ailments would go a long way to defuse the high level of stigma attached to the condition.
In his view, “mental health should not be looked at in isolation” and called on health policy makers to ensure “more integration in the management of health”.
Anas Aremeyaw Anas Imposter nabbed
A 27-year-old man, Joseph Osei, who allegedly blackmailed some companies by using the name of the company of the ace investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, Tiger Eye Productions, has been arrested by the police.
The suspect is alleged to have extorted GH¢12,200 from two companies in Accra and Tema under the pretext of using the money to halt secret investigations which would be carried out by he and Anas into the activities of those companies.
According to the Crime Officer of the Adabraka Police Command, DSP Mr Ebenezer Nketiah, Osei extorted GH¢2,000 from his first victim and GH¢10,200 from his second victim.
He said it was believed that the suspect had defrauded several people under the guise of working with Mr Anas to expose their activities.
Mr Nketiah said although the suspect, who claimed to be a freelance journalist, had been moving from one part of the country to another to extort money from companies after blackmailing them into believing that he, with Anas’s assistance, was conducting investigations into their activities.
He said the suspect had forged the letterheads and logos of Tiger Eye Productions which he (suspect) used to facilitate his fraudulent deals.
He said some time last year, the suspect approached one of the companies with the information that Mr Anas had put the spotlight on that company and that its activities would soon be exposed.
Mr Nketiah said Osei then requested for some money to induce Mr Anas to stop further investigations into the company.
He said the suspect, when he was invited by the company under investigation, produced the fake letterheads from Tiger Eye to substantiate his claim.
He explained that it was under such circumstances that the suspect was given GH¢10,200 to be given to Anas to stop the investigations.
According to Mr Nketiah, just after receiving the GH¢10,200 from the Tema-based company, the suspect sent a threatening text message to its chief executive officer (CEO) demanding more money or be painted as a supporter of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who was working to undermine the NDC government.
At that stage, he said, the CEO, whose name was being withheld for security reasons, realised that the suspect was out to defraud him and, therefore, reported the matter to the police.
He said the suspect was arrested when he went to the CEO’s office to collect the additional money he had demanded.
The suspect is alleged to have extorted GH¢12,200 from two companies in Accra and Tema under the pretext of using the money to halt secret investigations which would be carried out by he and Anas into the activities of those companies.
According to the Crime Officer of the Adabraka Police Command, DSP Mr Ebenezer Nketiah, Osei extorted GH¢2,000 from his first victim and GH¢10,200 from his second victim.
He said it was believed that the suspect had defrauded several people under the guise of working with Mr Anas to expose their activities.
Mr Nketiah said although the suspect, who claimed to be a freelance journalist, had been moving from one part of the country to another to extort money from companies after blackmailing them into believing that he, with Anas’s assistance, was conducting investigations into their activities.
He said the suspect had forged the letterheads and logos of Tiger Eye Productions which he (suspect) used to facilitate his fraudulent deals.
He said some time last year, the suspect approached one of the companies with the information that Mr Anas had put the spotlight on that company and that its activities would soon be exposed.
Mr Nketiah said Osei then requested for some money to induce Mr Anas to stop further investigations into the company.
He said the suspect, when he was invited by the company under investigation, produced the fake letterheads from Tiger Eye to substantiate his claim.
He explained that it was under such circumstances that the suspect was given GH¢10,200 to be given to Anas to stop the investigations.
According to Mr Nketiah, just after receiving the GH¢10,200 from the Tema-based company, the suspect sent a threatening text message to its chief executive officer (CEO) demanding more money or be painted as a supporter of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who was working to undermine the NDC government.
At that stage, he said, the CEO, whose name was being withheld for security reasons, realised that the suspect was out to defraud him and, therefore, reported the matter to the police.
He said the suspect was arrested when he went to the CEO’s office to collect the additional money he had demanded.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Agya Koo for court today
Agya Koo is to appear before the Accra Circuit Court today on charges of conspiracy to commit crime, to wit, migrant smuggling, and defrauding by false pretences.
The popular actor, who was arrested last Friday, was placed in police custody until today when he is expected to make his first appearance in court.
Following the arrest warrant issued by the Accra Circuit Court and the subsequent publication in the Daily Graphic of his alleged fraud, Agya Koo reported himself to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service at 10 a.m. on Friday, January I8, 20I3.
After the publication of the story in the Daily Graphic, I3 more people have reported to the police that each of them has been defrauded of $1,850 by the popular Ghanaian actor and comedian under the pretext of securing United States of America (USA) visas for them.
Four of the 13 reported the alleged fraud to the Anti Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of the Ghana Police Service in Accra yesterday, while nine others called the police from Kumasi, claiming that they had also suffered from Agya Koo’s alleged scam.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has denied reports that Agya Koo cleverly beat immigration officials at the airport after an arrest warrant was issued by the Accra Circuit Court.
A statement by the Head of Public Affairs of the GIS, Mr Francis Palmdeti, on Friday, January 18, 2013, said the service received the warrant for Agya Koo’s arrest at 5.30 p.m. on January 8, 2013, while records at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) indicated that the suspect left the country at 4.36 p.m. the same day.
“Documentary evidence from the Immigration Control at the KIA indicates that the said warrant from the CID of the Ghana Police Service was received at 5:30 p.m., while the suspect left the country on Emirates Airlines at 4:36 p.m. This implies that the suspect had departed one hour before the warrant was handed over to the GIS/KIA,” it said.
The popular actor, who was arrested last Friday, was placed in police custody until today when he is expected to make his first appearance in court.
Following the arrest warrant issued by the Accra Circuit Court and the subsequent publication in the Daily Graphic of his alleged fraud, Agya Koo reported himself to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service at 10 a.m. on Friday, January I8, 20I3.
After the publication of the story in the Daily Graphic, I3 more people have reported to the police that each of them has been defrauded of $1,850 by the popular Ghanaian actor and comedian under the pretext of securing United States of America (USA) visas for them.
Four of the 13 reported the alleged fraud to the Anti Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of the Ghana Police Service in Accra yesterday, while nine others called the police from Kumasi, claiming that they had also suffered from Agya Koo’s alleged scam.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has denied reports that Agya Koo cleverly beat immigration officials at the airport after an arrest warrant was issued by the Accra Circuit Court.
A statement by the Head of Public Affairs of the GIS, Mr Francis Palmdeti, on Friday, January 18, 2013, said the service received the warrant for Agya Koo’s arrest at 5.30 p.m. on January 8, 2013, while records at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) indicated that the suspect left the country at 4.36 p.m. the same day.
“Documentary evidence from the Immigration Control at the KIA indicates that the said warrant from the CID of the Ghana Police Service was received at 5:30 p.m., while the suspect left the country on Emirates Airlines at 4:36 p.m. This implies that the suspect had departed one hour before the warrant was handed over to the GIS/KIA,” it said.
Soldiers Clash with Landguards
TWO soldiers who clashed with land guards at Dansoman on Saturday over a disputed land have been arrested by the police.
The two, whose names are being withheld, are alleged to have been hired along with two other soldiers by a private developer to demolish structures on the disputed land at Dansoman Akokorphoto in Accra but they were met with fierce resistance by a group of land guards.
But for the timely intervention of the Dansoman Police, there would have been a blood bath between the four soldiers and the land guards.
According to the Accra Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr Freeman Tettey, a confrontation ensued between the land guards and the soldiers but before matters could get worse, the police rushed to the scene, following a report to them by a concerned resident, to maintain law and order.
DSP Tettey said two of the four military men were arrested but the other two managed to escape.
He indicated that the two military men had been handed over to the Military High Command for further investigations and possible disciplinary action.
He said the police had mounted an intensive search for the arrest of a land guard also hired by the private developer.
DSP Tettey said preliminary investigations conducted into the incident revealed that the soldiers had not been authorised to undertake any demolition exercise.
He said the disputed land was originally part of the State Farms Project but the government gave it back to the original owners after the project had folded up.
The two, whose names are being withheld, are alleged to have been hired along with two other soldiers by a private developer to demolish structures on the disputed land at Dansoman Akokorphoto in Accra but they were met with fierce resistance by a group of land guards.
But for the timely intervention of the Dansoman Police, there would have been a blood bath between the four soldiers and the land guards.
According to the Accra Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr Freeman Tettey, a confrontation ensued between the land guards and the soldiers but before matters could get worse, the police rushed to the scene, following a report to them by a concerned resident, to maintain law and order.
DSP Tettey said two of the four military men were arrested but the other two managed to escape.
He indicated that the two military men had been handed over to the Military High Command for further investigations and possible disciplinary action.
He said the police had mounted an intensive search for the arrest of a land guard also hired by the private developer.
DSP Tettey said preliminary investigations conducted into the incident revealed that the soldiers had not been authorised to undertake any demolition exercise.
He said the disputed land was originally part of the State Farms Project but the government gave it back to the original owners after the project had folded up.
Agya Koo Nabbed
Thirteen more people have reported to the police that each of them has been defrauded of $1,850 by the popular Ghanaian actor and comedian, Kofi Adu, also known as Agya Koo, under the pretext of securing United States of America (USA) visas for them.
Four of the 13 reported the alleged fraud to the Anti Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of the Ghana Police Service in Accra yesterday, while nine others called the police from Kumasi, claiming that they had also suffered from Agya Koo’s alleged scam.
Following the arrest warrant issued by the Accra Circuit Court and the subsequent publication in the Daily Graphic of his alleged fraud, Agya Koo reported himself to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service at 10 a.m. yesterday.
His presence at the AHTU attracted some policemen and members of the public who shouted, “Agya Koo Gbegbentus! Agya Koo Gbegentus!” as the comedian was led from the fifth floor of the CID Headquarters to the cells on the ground floor.
Agya Koo Gbegbentus is the title of one of the movies in which the comedian starred, alongside Idikoko, another popular actor
Earlier, Agya Koo was said to have told the police that he was in Kumasi when the news about his alleged fraud broke. He, therefore, quickly, travelled to Accra to report himself and set the records straight.
After his rights had been made known to him under the law, Agya Koo decided to call his lawyer, Capt Nkrabea Effah-Darteh (retd), before writing his statement.
The Head of the AHTU, Superintendent, Mrs Patience Quaye, told the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday that Agya Koo admitted to the offence but explained that $850 was a non-refundable registration fee, while $1,000 was for visa processing and a work permit in the USA.
Agya Koo is scheduled to be put before court on Monday, January 21, 2012 on charges of conspiracy to commit crime, to wit, migrant smuggling, and defrauding by false pretences.
The popular actor will remain in police custody until Monday when he is expected to be put before court.
According to Mrs Quaye, following the publication of the story in the Daily Graphic, the unit had been inundated with calls from the suspect’s other victims in Kumasi who claimed that they were among those who had been taken to the United States Embassy but ended up without the visas.
She said so far four persons had reported their cases to the unit, while nine others had called from Kumasi claiming to be victims of Agya Koo’s alleged scam.
According to Mrs Quaye, the nine had indicated their intention to travel to Accra on Monday to give their statements to the police.
It would be recalled that yesterday’s issue of this paper carried the story that an Accra Circuit Court had issued a warrant for Agya Koo’s arrest for allegedly defrauding an individual of GH¢3,800 by false pretence.
The warrant, issued in Accra on January 8, 2013, directed the police to apprehend Agya Koo and produce him before the court to answer charges of fraud levelled against him by the complainant.
The ace comedian, who had initially cut off the call to him by the Daily Graphic, with the explanation that he was busy at work, later called to deny having collected that amount of money from Mr Stephen Kwarteng, the complainant, although he admitted knowing Mr Kwarteng.
The Director-General of the CID, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr Prosper Agblor, told the Daily Graphic that a report of fraud had been made against the suspect by Mr Kwarteng, who alleged that the comedian had taken GH¢3,800 from him under the pretext of helping him travel to the United States of America (USA).
According to Mr Agblor, although the warrant was placed at all exit and entry points in the country to prevent the suspect from travelling out of the country, Agya Koo managed to beat immigration officials at the Kotoka International Airport and travelled to Abu Dhabi to watch the friendly football match between Ghana and Tunisia.
Four of the 13 reported the alleged fraud to the Anti Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of the Ghana Police Service in Accra yesterday, while nine others called the police from Kumasi, claiming that they had also suffered from Agya Koo’s alleged scam.
Following the arrest warrant issued by the Accra Circuit Court and the subsequent publication in the Daily Graphic of his alleged fraud, Agya Koo reported himself to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service at 10 a.m. yesterday.
His presence at the AHTU attracted some policemen and members of the public who shouted, “Agya Koo Gbegbentus! Agya Koo Gbegentus!” as the comedian was led from the fifth floor of the CID Headquarters to the cells on the ground floor.
Agya Koo Gbegbentus is the title of one of the movies in which the comedian starred, alongside Idikoko, another popular actor
Earlier, Agya Koo was said to have told the police that he was in Kumasi when the news about his alleged fraud broke. He, therefore, quickly, travelled to Accra to report himself and set the records straight.
After his rights had been made known to him under the law, Agya Koo decided to call his lawyer, Capt Nkrabea Effah-Darteh (retd), before writing his statement.
The Head of the AHTU, Superintendent, Mrs Patience Quaye, told the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday that Agya Koo admitted to the offence but explained that $850 was a non-refundable registration fee, while $1,000 was for visa processing and a work permit in the USA.
Agya Koo is scheduled to be put before court on Monday, January 21, 2012 on charges of conspiracy to commit crime, to wit, migrant smuggling, and defrauding by false pretences.
The popular actor will remain in police custody until Monday when he is expected to be put before court.
According to Mrs Quaye, following the publication of the story in the Daily Graphic, the unit had been inundated with calls from the suspect’s other victims in Kumasi who claimed that they were among those who had been taken to the United States Embassy but ended up without the visas.
She said so far four persons had reported their cases to the unit, while nine others had called from Kumasi claiming to be victims of Agya Koo’s alleged scam.
According to Mrs Quaye, the nine had indicated their intention to travel to Accra on Monday to give their statements to the police.
It would be recalled that yesterday’s issue of this paper carried the story that an Accra Circuit Court had issued a warrant for Agya Koo’s arrest for allegedly defrauding an individual of GH¢3,800 by false pretence.
The warrant, issued in Accra on January 8, 2013, directed the police to apprehend Agya Koo and produce him before the court to answer charges of fraud levelled against him by the complainant.
The ace comedian, who had initially cut off the call to him by the Daily Graphic, with the explanation that he was busy at work, later called to deny having collected that amount of money from Mr Stephen Kwarteng, the complainant, although he admitted knowing Mr Kwarteng.
The Director-General of the CID, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr Prosper Agblor, told the Daily Graphic that a report of fraud had been made against the suspect by Mr Kwarteng, who alleged that the comedian had taken GH¢3,800 from him under the pretext of helping him travel to the United States of America (USA).
According to Mr Agblor, although the warrant was placed at all exit and entry points in the country to prevent the suspect from travelling out of the country, Agya Koo managed to beat immigration officials at the Kotoka International Airport and travelled to Abu Dhabi to watch the friendly football match between Ghana and Tunisia.
Agya Koo Popular Ghanaian Actor and Comedian is Hot
THE Accra Circuit Court has issued a warrant for the arrest of popular Ghanaian actor and comedian, Kofi Adu, also known as Agya Koo, for allegedly defrauding an individual of GH¢3,800 by false pretence.
The warrant, issued in Accra on January 8, 2013, directed the police to apprehend Agya Koo and produce him before the court to answer charges of fraud levelled against him by a complainant.
But the ace comedian, who had initially cut off the call to him by the Daily Graphic, with the explanation that he was busy at work, later called to deny having collected that amount of money from Mr Stephen Kwarteng, the complainant, although he admitted knowing Mr Kwarteng.
The Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr Prosper Agblor, told the Daily Graphic yesterday that a report of fraud had been made against the suspect by Mr Kwarteng, who alleged that the comedian had taken GH¢3,800 from him under the pretext of helping him travel to the United States of America (USA).
According to Mr Agblor, although the warrant was placed at all exit and entry points in the country to prevent the suspect from travelling out of the country, Agya Koo managed to beat immigration officials at the Kotoka Internal Airport and travelled to Abu Dhabi to watch the friendly football match between Ghana and Tunisia.
The director-general indicated that the complainant reported to the Anti Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of the CID that some time in 2011, he (complainant) expressed the desire to travel abroad and discussed the issue with a friend, who introduced Agya Koo to complainant as a friend who could help him realise his dream.
Thereafter, the complainant and his friend called Agya Koo to inform him about Mr Kwarteng’s intentions to travel to the USA.
Mr Agblor said Agya Koo later invited the two friends to his house at Alhaji Tabora in Accra for further discussions.
During subsequent discussions, Agya Koo told them that he had helped many people to travel outside the country and promised to take Kwarteng out in January 2012.
The complainant claimed that on the day of the meeting, Agya Koo indicated that he was leaving for Kumasi and allegedly requested the complainant to bring him GH¢3,800 for the processing of the documents.
Mr Agblor said because Mr Kwarteng claimed he did not have the money at that time, Agya Koo asked him to pay the said amount later and the complainant later took the money to the Takyiman residence of Agya Koo in Kumasi.
After Kwarteng had allegedly handed over the money to Agya Koo, the suspect promised to process the necessary documents for the visa at the American Embassy.
Two months later, Agya Koo called to inform Mr Kwarteng that the visa was ready for collection at the embassy and requested that the complainant meet him under the tree at the roundabout close to the America Embassy.
When Mr Kwarteng got to the roundabout, he met 10 other people who were also waiting for Agya Koo to pick up their visas.
Agya Koo showed up later armed with a bag full of documents claiming to be the visa application forms and passports and asked his “clients” to wait for him under the tree while he went to the embassy to meet the consular for their visas.
After three hours of waiting under the three, Agya Koo was said to have called those waiting for him that he was at Busy Internet at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and requested his “clients” to meet him there.
According to Mr Agblor, it was at Busy Internet that Agya Koo informed them that they had been refused the American visas but quickly promised to secure them either Canadian or Australian visas.
The CID Chief said Kwarteng claimed that after that meeting, anytime he called Agya Koo, he (Agya Koo) kept giving one explanation or another.
According to the Director of the AHTU of the CID, Superintendent Mrs Patience Quaye, a report on the alleged fraud was made to the police on January 4, 2013.
However, all efforts to get Agya Koo to report himself and assist in investigations failed, compelling the police to take the matter to court.
Although Agya Koo was informed of the case in court, he failed to show up, an action which compelled the court to issue a warrant for his arrest.
At the time of filing this report, a source at the CID Headquarters told the Daily Graphic that Agya Koo had called to avail himself to the police today.
The warrant, issued in Accra on January 8, 2013, directed the police to apprehend Agya Koo and produce him before the court to answer charges of fraud levelled against him by a complainant.
But the ace comedian, who had initially cut off the call to him by the Daily Graphic, with the explanation that he was busy at work, later called to deny having collected that amount of money from Mr Stephen Kwarteng, the complainant, although he admitted knowing Mr Kwarteng.
The Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr Prosper Agblor, told the Daily Graphic yesterday that a report of fraud had been made against the suspect by Mr Kwarteng, who alleged that the comedian had taken GH¢3,800 from him under the pretext of helping him travel to the United States of America (USA).
According to Mr Agblor, although the warrant was placed at all exit and entry points in the country to prevent the suspect from travelling out of the country, Agya Koo managed to beat immigration officials at the Kotoka Internal Airport and travelled to Abu Dhabi to watch the friendly football match between Ghana and Tunisia.
The director-general indicated that the complainant reported to the Anti Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of the CID that some time in 2011, he (complainant) expressed the desire to travel abroad and discussed the issue with a friend, who introduced Agya Koo to complainant as a friend who could help him realise his dream.
Thereafter, the complainant and his friend called Agya Koo to inform him about Mr Kwarteng’s intentions to travel to the USA.
Mr Agblor said Agya Koo later invited the two friends to his house at Alhaji Tabora in Accra for further discussions.
During subsequent discussions, Agya Koo told them that he had helped many people to travel outside the country and promised to take Kwarteng out in January 2012.
The complainant claimed that on the day of the meeting, Agya Koo indicated that he was leaving for Kumasi and allegedly requested the complainant to bring him GH¢3,800 for the processing of the documents.
Mr Agblor said because Mr Kwarteng claimed he did not have the money at that time, Agya Koo asked him to pay the said amount later and the complainant later took the money to the Takyiman residence of Agya Koo in Kumasi.
After Kwarteng had allegedly handed over the money to Agya Koo, the suspect promised to process the necessary documents for the visa at the American Embassy.
Two months later, Agya Koo called to inform Mr Kwarteng that the visa was ready for collection at the embassy and requested that the complainant meet him under the tree at the roundabout close to the America Embassy.
When Mr Kwarteng got to the roundabout, he met 10 other people who were also waiting for Agya Koo to pick up their visas.
Agya Koo showed up later armed with a bag full of documents claiming to be the visa application forms and passports and asked his “clients” to wait for him under the tree while he went to the embassy to meet the consular for their visas.
After three hours of waiting under the three, Agya Koo was said to have called those waiting for him that he was at Busy Internet at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and requested his “clients” to meet him there.
According to Mr Agblor, it was at Busy Internet that Agya Koo informed them that they had been refused the American visas but quickly promised to secure them either Canadian or Australian visas.
The CID Chief said Kwarteng claimed that after that meeting, anytime he called Agya Koo, he (Agya Koo) kept giving one explanation or another.
According to the Director of the AHTU of the CID, Superintendent Mrs Patience Quaye, a report on the alleged fraud was made to the police on January 4, 2013.
However, all efforts to get Agya Koo to report himself and assist in investigations failed, compelling the police to take the matter to court.
Although Agya Koo was informed of the case in court, he failed to show up, an action which compelled the court to issue a warrant for his arrest.
At the time of filing this report, a source at the CID Headquarters told the Daily Graphic that Agya Koo had called to avail himself to the police today.
Health Insurance Knowledge Centre to be Established in Ghana
Plans are far advanced for the establishment of a Health Insurance Knowledge Centre for the Africa Region in Ghana to build the knowledge and capacity of policy makers, managers and practitioners in the field of health insurance in Africa.
The centre is expected to provide expertise and training on health insurance to many countries and institutions across the world.
The Chief Executive of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr Sylvester A. Mensah, who disclosed this at the opening of a workshop in Accra yesterday to discuss a feasibility studies report on the establishment of the centre and chart the way forward, said the idea to set up the institution was put forward by the NHIA with support from its development partners.
He said the essence of the centre would be to make good use of the rich knowledge base of Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme ( NHIS), which has become a global model for health insurance and widely cited by many academics as a worthy example of social health insurance.
He asserted that the centre would be opened to all interested persons and institutions across the world and would also deepen Ghana’s current position as a leading global model of social health insurance.
According to Mr Mensah, the global centre, which would be located in Ghana, was to provide the opportunity for knowledge sharing and acquisition in the context of health insurance.
He mentioned that the forum was also to build capacity of the personnel and to sell the idea of a health insurance learning centre to see how best it could be supported and financed.
The consultant working on the feasibility of the learning centre project, Dr Nicholas Tweneboah, indicated that the centre would be important in bridging the health insurance knowledge capacity gaps that existed in many countries as they related to theory, practice and research.
Dr Tweneboah was grateful to Pharm Access Foundation, the Uganda Martyrs University, Cordaid and the health insurance fund for providing support to the feasibility study.
A senior programmes manager and researcher with Pharm Access Foundation, Ms Christine Fenenga, noted that establishment of the centre would go a long way to improve knowledge of health insurance and make Ghana a hub where experts on the subject from many parts of the world would come to share and debate ideas relevant to enhancing existing health insurance systems.
The forum drew participants from Uganda, Nigeria, Germany, Denmark and The Netherlands.
The centre is expected to provide expertise and training on health insurance to many countries and institutions across the world.
The Chief Executive of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr Sylvester A. Mensah, who disclosed this at the opening of a workshop in Accra yesterday to discuss a feasibility studies report on the establishment of the centre and chart the way forward, said the idea to set up the institution was put forward by the NHIA with support from its development partners.
He said the essence of the centre would be to make good use of the rich knowledge base of Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme ( NHIS), which has become a global model for health insurance and widely cited by many academics as a worthy example of social health insurance.
He asserted that the centre would be opened to all interested persons and institutions across the world and would also deepen Ghana’s current position as a leading global model of social health insurance.
According to Mr Mensah, the global centre, which would be located in Ghana, was to provide the opportunity for knowledge sharing and acquisition in the context of health insurance.
He mentioned that the forum was also to build capacity of the personnel and to sell the idea of a health insurance learning centre to see how best it could be supported and financed.
The consultant working on the feasibility of the learning centre project, Dr Nicholas Tweneboah, indicated that the centre would be important in bridging the health insurance knowledge capacity gaps that existed in many countries as they related to theory, practice and research.
Dr Tweneboah was grateful to Pharm Access Foundation, the Uganda Martyrs University, Cordaid and the health insurance fund for providing support to the feasibility study.
A senior programmes manager and researcher with Pharm Access Foundation, Ms Christine Fenenga, noted that establishment of the centre would go a long way to improve knowledge of health insurance and make Ghana a hub where experts on the subject from many parts of the world would come to share and debate ideas relevant to enhancing existing health insurance systems.
The forum drew participants from Uganda, Nigeria, Germany, Denmark and The Netherlands.
Three Men arrested for defrauding a Geologist
THE Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police have in their custody three men who alleged defrauded a geologist GH¢100,000 under the pretext of selling an excavator to him.
The suspects, Steven Darko, 70, Kwabena Asiedu, 38 and Ekow Armah, 32, were arrested at their hideout following a tip off.
A fourth accomplice whose name was given only as Alex is, however, on the run and a warrant had been issued for his arrest.
According to the Public Relations Officer of the CID, ASP J. B. Darkwa, the complainant is a geologist and owner of a mining site at Anyinam in the Eastern Region.
He said somewhere in September, 2012, an unidentified person yet to be traced went to the victim’s site and told one of his workers that, his brother in the USA had shipped a CL 330 excavator into the country and was offering it for sale.
He said the worker later informed the complainant who expressed interest in buying the excavator and directed that his contact number be given to the supposed owner of the excavator for possible negotiation.
Later the complainant received a call from someone with a foreign phone number who introduced himself as the owner of the excavator and referred the victim to suspect Alex for negotiation.
The complainant subsequently contacted suspect Alex and after discussions, he was taken to the Tema Harbour where he inspected the excavator.
ASP Darkwa indicated that Alex quoted the price of the excavator as GH¢210,000 but agreed that the victim should make an initial payment of GH¢110,000 and pay the difference later.
The complainant agreed to the terms of the transaction so suspect Alex then instructed the victim to make the necessary payment directly to his father in-law, Steven Darko who happens to be a member of the syndicate.
He said on September 3, 2012 suspect Kwabena Asiedu, also a member of the syndicate met the victim and took him to a house at Ashaley Botwe where suspect Steven Darko was already waiting for them for the payment of the money.
He said the complainant paid an amount of GH¢60,000 to Steven Darko in the presence of Kwabena Asiedu and also issued a cheque of GH¢20,000 in addition bringing the total of money paid to the father in law to GH¢80,000.
The PRO said they impressed upon the complainant to cash the GH¢20,000 cheque for them since they don’t want to go through the hassle of cashing money at the bank so he agreed and from Ashaley Botwe, Kwabena Aseidu again accompanied the complainant to the East Legon branch of Fidelity Bank, where the cheque was cashed and handed over to him.
He said complainant was also made to pay another GH¢20,000 to a man supposed to be the agent in respect of payment of custom duties for the clearing of the escavator.
After paying a total of GH¢100,000, the complainant went to the harbour to pick the escavator and was almost arrested by security officials for trying to steal an escavator from the harbour.
He explained to the officials that he had bought the escavator from its owner and showed them documents covering the purchase. It was at this stage that he was told that the escavator does not belong to an individual but a company and that it was not for sale.
It was at this stage that the complainant realised that he had been swindled and when he called all the members of the syndicate they had switched of their phones and had gone into hiding.
When all efforts by the complainant to trace the whereabouts of the suspects failed, he made a report to the police in December last year and following intelligence the police were able to arrest the three suspects on January 4, 2013.
They will be arraigned before court soon after investigations.
The suspects, Steven Darko, 70, Kwabena Asiedu, 38 and Ekow Armah, 32, were arrested at their hideout following a tip off.
A fourth accomplice whose name was given only as Alex is, however, on the run and a warrant had been issued for his arrest.
According to the Public Relations Officer of the CID, ASP J. B. Darkwa, the complainant is a geologist and owner of a mining site at Anyinam in the Eastern Region.
He said somewhere in September, 2012, an unidentified person yet to be traced went to the victim’s site and told one of his workers that, his brother in the USA had shipped a CL 330 excavator into the country and was offering it for sale.
He said the worker later informed the complainant who expressed interest in buying the excavator and directed that his contact number be given to the supposed owner of the excavator for possible negotiation.
Later the complainant received a call from someone with a foreign phone number who introduced himself as the owner of the excavator and referred the victim to suspect Alex for negotiation.
The complainant subsequently contacted suspect Alex and after discussions, he was taken to the Tema Harbour where he inspected the excavator.
ASP Darkwa indicated that Alex quoted the price of the excavator as GH¢210,000 but agreed that the victim should make an initial payment of GH¢110,000 and pay the difference later.
The complainant agreed to the terms of the transaction so suspect Alex then instructed the victim to make the necessary payment directly to his father in-law, Steven Darko who happens to be a member of the syndicate.
He said on September 3, 2012 suspect Kwabena Asiedu, also a member of the syndicate met the victim and took him to a house at Ashaley Botwe where suspect Steven Darko was already waiting for them for the payment of the money.
He said the complainant paid an amount of GH¢60,000 to Steven Darko in the presence of Kwabena Asiedu and also issued a cheque of GH¢20,000 in addition bringing the total of money paid to the father in law to GH¢80,000.
The PRO said they impressed upon the complainant to cash the GH¢20,000 cheque for them since they don’t want to go through the hassle of cashing money at the bank so he agreed and from Ashaley Botwe, Kwabena Aseidu again accompanied the complainant to the East Legon branch of Fidelity Bank, where the cheque was cashed and handed over to him.
He said complainant was also made to pay another GH¢20,000 to a man supposed to be the agent in respect of payment of custom duties for the clearing of the escavator.
After paying a total of GH¢100,000, the complainant went to the harbour to pick the escavator and was almost arrested by security officials for trying to steal an escavator from the harbour.
He explained to the officials that he had bought the escavator from its owner and showed them documents covering the purchase. It was at this stage that he was told that the escavator does not belong to an individual but a company and that it was not for sale.
It was at this stage that the complainant realised that he had been swindled and when he called all the members of the syndicate they had switched of their phones and had gone into hiding.
When all efforts by the complainant to trace the whereabouts of the suspects failed, he made a report to the police in December last year and following intelligence the police were able to arrest the three suspects on January 4, 2013.
They will be arraigned before court soon after investigations.
Two Nigerians arrested for fraud
TWO Nigerians who defrauded an Ivorian engineer resident in the United Kingdom 10,000 pounds sterling under the pretext of offering him a job in an oil marketing company in Ghana has been arrested by the Commercial Crime Unit (CCRU) of the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service.
The two suspects, Akpani Hopson Wilson, alias Emmanuel Attah, an electrician and Jonathan Agambilla, alias Adams Coles, were arrested following a tip off.
According to the Director of the CCRU, Superintendent F. K. Mawusi, the complainant, Gbaddy Jacques Kouadio, was an Ivorian engineer resident in the United Kingdom.
He said Kouadio who was looking for a job posted his detailed curriculum vitae (CV) on the internet in November 2011, in search of employment as an expatriate in Ghana.
Supt Mawusi said he was subsequently contacted by Akpani Hopson Wilson who introduced himself as the Human Resource Manager of TECHNIP Company Limited, an oil company in Ghana.
He said Hopson informed the Ivorian that he has been directed by the Managing Director of TECHNIP to employ him due to his impressive CV and that the company would be paying him a monthly salary of $15,000.
He said the complainant became interested and agreed on the terms of employment offered by the suspects and after series of correspondence Hopson later introduced Jonathan Agambilla to complainant as a lawyer who would represent his interest to execute his employment contract with TECHNIP.
After series of correspondence between the complainant and the two suspects they requested him to pay an amount of £10,000 for the processing of his work permit, opening of bank account, paying of government fees and other documentation.
They instructed the complainant to transfer the £10,000 through UT Bank, Nima and Cantonments branches and Western Union to which complainant complied.
The director said upon receipt of the money, the two suspects stopped communications with the complainant who then realised that the whole deal was a scam.
When all efforts to trace the whereabouts of the suspects failed, the victim made a report to the police at the CID Headquarters in Accra and through intelligence two suspects were subsequently arrested.
Supt Mawusi indicated that upon interrogation, both suspects admitted collecting the sum of £10,000 from the complainant and shared same among themselves.
He said they also admitted that the whole transaction was a scam.
Investigations are ongoing after which the two suspects would be arraigned before court.
The two suspects, Akpani Hopson Wilson, alias Emmanuel Attah, an electrician and Jonathan Agambilla, alias Adams Coles, were arrested following a tip off.
According to the Director of the CCRU, Superintendent F. K. Mawusi, the complainant, Gbaddy Jacques Kouadio, was an Ivorian engineer resident in the United Kingdom.
He said Kouadio who was looking for a job posted his detailed curriculum vitae (CV) on the internet in November 2011, in search of employment as an expatriate in Ghana.
Supt Mawusi said he was subsequently contacted by Akpani Hopson Wilson who introduced himself as the Human Resource Manager of TECHNIP Company Limited, an oil company in Ghana.
He said Hopson informed the Ivorian that he has been directed by the Managing Director of TECHNIP to employ him due to his impressive CV and that the company would be paying him a monthly salary of $15,000.
He said the complainant became interested and agreed on the terms of employment offered by the suspects and after series of correspondence Hopson later introduced Jonathan Agambilla to complainant as a lawyer who would represent his interest to execute his employment contract with TECHNIP.
After series of correspondence between the complainant and the two suspects they requested him to pay an amount of £10,000 for the processing of his work permit, opening of bank account, paying of government fees and other documentation.
They instructed the complainant to transfer the £10,000 through UT Bank, Nima and Cantonments branches and Western Union to which complainant complied.
The director said upon receipt of the money, the two suspects stopped communications with the complainant who then realised that the whole deal was a scam.
When all efforts to trace the whereabouts of the suspects failed, the victim made a report to the police at the CID Headquarters in Accra and through intelligence two suspects were subsequently arrested.
Supt Mawusi indicated that upon interrogation, both suspects admitted collecting the sum of £10,000 from the complainant and shared same among themselves.
He said they also admitted that the whole transaction was a scam.
Investigations are ongoing after which the two suspects would be arraigned before court.
Inmate strangled another inmate to death
AN inmate of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital allegedly went berserk on Saturday night and strangled a fellow inmate to death.
Akua Pokua, 27, also pounced on another inmate and caused severe injuries to her eyes and head.
The suspect is said to have torn part of the chiffon red dress worn by Charlotte Nyarko, 35, and used it to strangle her before attacking another victim, Hannah Martey, 30.
According to the Accra Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr Freeman Tettey, the suspect was admitted to the hospital from Kasoa barely a week ago, while Nyarko had been on admission there since 1986.
He said about 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 12, 2013, Pokua, who was on Female Ward Two with other inmates, suddenly became aggressive and started attacking the others.
The nurses on duty managed to put her in an isolated ward at the hospital but, unknown to them, Nyarko and Martey were resting in the same ward.
As soon the nurses closed the door of the ward and left for their offices, Pokua attacked the two inmates when she saw them lying on the bed.
Mr Tettey said the nurses did not hear the screams from the isolated ward because their office was about 60 metres away.
When Pokua, who is heavily built, killed Nyarko, she launched an attack on Martey, hit her head against a wall and attempted to remove her eyes.
However, Martey’s screams were so loud that they caught the attention of the nurses who rushed to the ward, only to find Nyarko dead on the floor, with her red dress tied around her neck.
He said the nurses managed to subdue Pokua, after which she was chained before they made a report to the police.
Martey was rushed to the Ridge Hospital in Accra where she was treated and discharged.
The body of the deceased has been deposited at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital awaiting autopsy.
DSP Tettey said the police were in a dilemma, as the suspect was not in a state to give her statement, a situation which would make it very difficult for the police to investigate the matter.
Akua Pokua, 27, also pounced on another inmate and caused severe injuries to her eyes and head.
The suspect is said to have torn part of the chiffon red dress worn by Charlotte Nyarko, 35, and used it to strangle her before attacking another victim, Hannah Martey, 30.
According to the Accra Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr Freeman Tettey, the suspect was admitted to the hospital from Kasoa barely a week ago, while Nyarko had been on admission there since 1986.
He said about 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 12, 2013, Pokua, who was on Female Ward Two with other inmates, suddenly became aggressive and started attacking the others.
The nurses on duty managed to put her in an isolated ward at the hospital but, unknown to them, Nyarko and Martey were resting in the same ward.
As soon the nurses closed the door of the ward and left for their offices, Pokua attacked the two inmates when she saw them lying on the bed.
Mr Tettey said the nurses did not hear the screams from the isolated ward because their office was about 60 metres away.
When Pokua, who is heavily built, killed Nyarko, she launched an attack on Martey, hit her head against a wall and attempted to remove her eyes.
However, Martey’s screams were so loud that they caught the attention of the nurses who rushed to the ward, only to find Nyarko dead on the floor, with her red dress tied around her neck.
He said the nurses managed to subdue Pokua, after which she was chained before they made a report to the police.
Martey was rushed to the Ridge Hospital in Accra where she was treated and discharged.
The body of the deceased has been deposited at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital awaiting autopsy.
DSP Tettey said the police were in a dilemma, as the suspect was not in a state to give her statement, a situation which would make it very difficult for the police to investigate the matter.
Ghanaian arrested in the Us for Possessing Heroin
A GHANAIAN has been arrested at the Detroit Airport in the United States of America (USA) for possessing 1.8 kilogrammes of heroin.
The suspect, whose name has been withheld, arrived in the United States from The Netherlands with the heroin which has a street value of $400,000.
According to foreign media reports, on Tuesday, January 8, 2012, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers working at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport seized 1.8 kilogrammes of heroin from a Ghanaian citizen who had arrived from Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
The reports said a search by the CBP officers through his belongings revealed a package containing heroin, with an estimated street value of $400,000.
“The relentless effort and dedication of frontline CBP employees has resulted in the interdiction of these illicit drugs, preventing them from reaching the streets and doing harm,” the CBP Port Director, Devin Chamberlain, said.
The individual was arrested and turned over to US Homeland Security Investigations agents.
The US Attorney’s office will prosecute the individual.
The US CBP is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of US borders at and between the official ports of entry.
The CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country, while enforcing hundreds of US laws.
Meanwhile, the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) has contacted its counterpart in the USA for full details on the arrest of the Ghanaian at the Detroit Airport.
According to the Executive Secretary of NACOB, Mr Yaw Akrasi Sarpong, the report received by the board so far was too scanty and so the board had written for full details about the name and age of the suspect.
He said NACOB also wanted to know the last time the individual visited Ghana and how long he had been living in The Netherlands.
That, he said, would enable NACOB to launch full-scale investigations into the arrest of that person.
The suspect, whose name has been withheld, arrived in the United States from The Netherlands with the heroin which has a street value of $400,000.
According to foreign media reports, on Tuesday, January 8, 2012, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers working at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport seized 1.8 kilogrammes of heroin from a Ghanaian citizen who had arrived from Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
The reports said a search by the CBP officers through his belongings revealed a package containing heroin, with an estimated street value of $400,000.
“The relentless effort and dedication of frontline CBP employees has resulted in the interdiction of these illicit drugs, preventing them from reaching the streets and doing harm,” the CBP Port Director, Devin Chamberlain, said.
The individual was arrested and turned over to US Homeland Security Investigations agents.
The US Attorney’s office will prosecute the individual.
The US CBP is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of US borders at and between the official ports of entry.
The CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country, while enforcing hundreds of US laws.
Meanwhile, the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) has contacted its counterpart in the USA for full details on the arrest of the Ghanaian at the Detroit Airport.
According to the Executive Secretary of NACOB, Mr Yaw Akrasi Sarpong, the report received by the board so far was too scanty and so the board had written for full details about the name and age of the suspect.
He said NACOB also wanted to know the last time the individual visited Ghana and how long he had been living in The Netherlands.
That, he said, would enable NACOB to launch full-scale investigations into the arrest of that person.
76 year-old man arrested for fraud
A 76-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested by the Criminal investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service for allegedly defrauding some traders and farmers from Tamale for over GH¢100,000 under the pretext of supplying them with tractors on credit and buying their farm produce at higher prizes.
The suspect, Samuel Kittoe, the Deputy General Manager of Agricultural Marketing Development Company of Ghana situated at the Lashibi, was arrested by the police at a hotel at Sakumono where he has been hiding for the past six months.
Another accomplice, Samuel Gyimah, the General Manger of the company, is, however, at large and an intensive search had been mounted by the police for his arrest.
According to the Director General of the CID, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr Prosper Agblor, the suspects’ company placed an advert in the January 6, 2012 edition of the Daily Graphic seeking traders to supply maize, millet, beans and soybeans to the company.
They also placed another advert later in the month in the same paper that the company had in stock tractors which it was offering for sale to farmers on credit basis. These two adverts attracted a number of traders and farmers from Tamale.
He said the complainants in this case were two men - a trader and farmer from Tamale - who came to the police headquarters and reported that they have been defrauded by a company at Lashibi.
COP Agblor said it was believed that a number of people in the region had fallen victims to the activities of the company.
He said the trader, Iddrisu Alhassan, on seeing the advert on the supply of farm produce in the newspapers, became interested so he called the company and informed them that he could supply them with maize.
He said the suspect, who had been communicating with Iddrisu, asked him to come to Accra to sign an agreement. In that agreement he was told that after the supply of the produce, payment would be effected after 21 working days, to which he agreed.
Iddrisu then went back to Tamale and loaded 600 bags of maize valued at GH¢72,000 onto an articulator truck and brought it to the company’s offices at Lashibi where it was offloaded and he returned to Tamale to wait for the 21 days to elapse.
After the 21 days, Iddrisu, full of hope, returned to the company’s premises at Lashibi to collect his money but to his dismay the company had closed its offices and Kittoe and the General Manager, Samuel Gyimah, were nowhere to be found.
The victim then made a report to the police and a search was mounted for their arrest and while the police were pursuing the case, the other victim who is a farmer also came to the police to report that he and his elder brother saw the advert on the supply of the tractors so they came to the company’s offices at Lashibi where they were informed that the prize for one tractor was GH¢48,000 but they had to make a down payment of GH¢12,000 each and after the supply of the tractor the rest would be spread for a period of four years so they paid the deposit.
COP Agblor said the complainant was to comeback after a month to take delivery of the tractor and when he returned after a month the company had folded up.
He said the reports were made in April, 2012 and all efforts to trace the whereabouts of the two suspects proved futile until January 2, 2013 when intelligence gathered by the police indicated that Kittoe had been hiding in a hotel at the Sakumono Estates and has been living in the hotel for over six months now.
Upon interrogation, Kittoe admitted to the offence but claimed the money was given to his accomplice, Samuel Gyimah who had absconded.
Mr Agblor said it was believed that a number of traders and farmers from the north had fallen victims to the activities of the fraudsters
The suspect, Samuel Kittoe, the Deputy General Manager of Agricultural Marketing Development Company of Ghana situated at the Lashibi, was arrested by the police at a hotel at Sakumono where he has been hiding for the past six months.
Another accomplice, Samuel Gyimah, the General Manger of the company, is, however, at large and an intensive search had been mounted by the police for his arrest.
According to the Director General of the CID, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr Prosper Agblor, the suspects’ company placed an advert in the January 6, 2012 edition of the Daily Graphic seeking traders to supply maize, millet, beans and soybeans to the company.
They also placed another advert later in the month in the same paper that the company had in stock tractors which it was offering for sale to farmers on credit basis. These two adverts attracted a number of traders and farmers from Tamale.
He said the complainants in this case were two men - a trader and farmer from Tamale - who came to the police headquarters and reported that they have been defrauded by a company at Lashibi.
COP Agblor said it was believed that a number of people in the region had fallen victims to the activities of the company.
He said the trader, Iddrisu Alhassan, on seeing the advert on the supply of farm produce in the newspapers, became interested so he called the company and informed them that he could supply them with maize.
He said the suspect, who had been communicating with Iddrisu, asked him to come to Accra to sign an agreement. In that agreement he was told that after the supply of the produce, payment would be effected after 21 working days, to which he agreed.
Iddrisu then went back to Tamale and loaded 600 bags of maize valued at GH¢72,000 onto an articulator truck and brought it to the company’s offices at Lashibi where it was offloaded and he returned to Tamale to wait for the 21 days to elapse.
After the 21 days, Iddrisu, full of hope, returned to the company’s premises at Lashibi to collect his money but to his dismay the company had closed its offices and Kittoe and the General Manager, Samuel Gyimah, were nowhere to be found.
The victim then made a report to the police and a search was mounted for their arrest and while the police were pursuing the case, the other victim who is a farmer also came to the police to report that he and his elder brother saw the advert on the supply of the tractors so they came to the company’s offices at Lashibi where they were informed that the prize for one tractor was GH¢48,000 but they had to make a down payment of GH¢12,000 each and after the supply of the tractor the rest would be spread for a period of four years so they paid the deposit.
COP Agblor said the complainant was to comeback after a month to take delivery of the tractor and when he returned after a month the company had folded up.
He said the reports were made in April, 2012 and all efforts to trace the whereabouts of the two suspects proved futile until January 2, 2013 when intelligence gathered by the police indicated that Kittoe had been hiding in a hotel at the Sakumono Estates and has been living in the hotel for over six months now.
Upon interrogation, Kittoe admitted to the offence but claimed the money was given to his accomplice, Samuel Gyimah who had absconded.
Mr Agblor said it was believed that a number of traders and farmers from the north had fallen victims to the activities of the fraudsters
Amorous Pastor Arrested
– For attempting to poison the husband of a female church member
The Founder and Head Pastor of Zoe Power Ministries, Pastor Philip Azumah, who allegedly attempted to poison the husband of a woman he is flirting with has been arrested by the Adenta Police.
Pastor Azumah, 54, is alleged to have been in an amorous relationship with the married woman for the past six years.
In an attempt to get rid of the woman’s husband, so that he will have unimpeded access to her, Pastor Azumah is said to have given his lover a bottle containing a substance to lace her husband’s food.
According to the Adenta District Police Commander, DSP Stephen Ahiatafu, the complainant, whose name is being withheld for security reasons, accompanied by her husband, went to the police station on January 2, 2013 to report the incident.
The woman was said to have reported the case to the police and presented the bottle containing the substance believed to be poison to them.
She claimed that Pastor Azumah had given it to her to mix it with the food that her husband would eat to end his life.
He said the complainant told the police that she had been a member of the church for the past seven years and that some time in 2006 Pastor Azumah had proposed love to her but she had declined, with the explanation that she was a married woman with children.
But her explanation could not deter the pastor from continuing to put pressure on her.
Some time in 2006, the pastor invited her to accompany him to a prayer camp at Darkuman, a request she obliged.
According to the police, the woman said on the way to the prayer camp, she and the pastor decided to stop for some short rest at a guest house.
DSP Ahiatafu said the woman claimed that after taking a drink, she became drowsy, and when she came back to her senses, she found herself naked lying in bed with the pastor.
She claimed the pastor warned her not to divulge what had happened between them that day to anybody, otherwise she would die.
Based on the threat, the police said, the woman failed to divulge what had happened but continued to sleep with the pastor for six years from 2006 to 2012.
The district commander indicated that some time in September 2012, the pastor, after the usual sexual encounter with the woman, told her that he loved her so much that he wanted to do away with her husband, so that he and the woman could get married.
The pastor, consequently, gave her a black substance in a bottle and asked her to mix it with food for her husband.
DSP Ahiatafu said the woman claimed she never had the chance to carry out the act, as her husband suddenly started behaving abnormally.
For fear that the pastor had used some charm on him, just before the New Year she decided to confess her relationship with the pastor to her husband and even showed the bottle the pastor had given to her to him.
The husband then accompanied the woman to the police station where they lodged a complaint, leading to the pastor’s arrest.
Upon interrogation, Pastor Azumah admitted sleeping with the married woman several times and pleaded for forgiveness.
He is expected to be put before court soon after investigations.
The Founder and Head Pastor of Zoe Power Ministries, Pastor Philip Azumah, who allegedly attempted to poison the husband of a woman he is flirting with has been arrested by the Adenta Police.
Pastor Azumah, 54, is alleged to have been in an amorous relationship with the married woman for the past six years.
In an attempt to get rid of the woman’s husband, so that he will have unimpeded access to her, Pastor Azumah is said to have given his lover a bottle containing a substance to lace her husband’s food.
According to the Adenta District Police Commander, DSP Stephen Ahiatafu, the complainant, whose name is being withheld for security reasons, accompanied by her husband, went to the police station on January 2, 2013 to report the incident.
The woman was said to have reported the case to the police and presented the bottle containing the substance believed to be poison to them.
She claimed that Pastor Azumah had given it to her to mix it with the food that her husband would eat to end his life.
He said the complainant told the police that she had been a member of the church for the past seven years and that some time in 2006 Pastor Azumah had proposed love to her but she had declined, with the explanation that she was a married woman with children.
But her explanation could not deter the pastor from continuing to put pressure on her.
Some time in 2006, the pastor invited her to accompany him to a prayer camp at Darkuman, a request she obliged.
According to the police, the woman said on the way to the prayer camp, she and the pastor decided to stop for some short rest at a guest house.
DSP Ahiatafu said the woman claimed that after taking a drink, she became drowsy, and when she came back to her senses, she found herself naked lying in bed with the pastor.
She claimed the pastor warned her not to divulge what had happened between them that day to anybody, otherwise she would die.
Based on the threat, the police said, the woman failed to divulge what had happened but continued to sleep with the pastor for six years from 2006 to 2012.
The district commander indicated that some time in September 2012, the pastor, after the usual sexual encounter with the woman, told her that he loved her so much that he wanted to do away with her husband, so that he and the woman could get married.
The pastor, consequently, gave her a black substance in a bottle and asked her to mix it with food for her husband.
DSP Ahiatafu said the woman claimed she never had the chance to carry out the act, as her husband suddenly started behaving abnormally.
For fear that the pastor had used some charm on him, just before the New Year she decided to confess her relationship with the pastor to her husband and even showed the bottle the pastor had given to her to him.
The husband then accompanied the woman to the police station where they lodged a complaint, leading to the pastor’s arrest.
Upon interrogation, Pastor Azumah admitted sleeping with the married woman several times and pleaded for forgiveness.
He is expected to be put before court soon after investigations.
Court Restrained Young Patriots
The Accra Circuit Court yesterday restrained members of the Young Patriots of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) from carrying out their intended demonstration scheduled for today, January 8, 2013.
The court, presided over by Mrs Naa Adoley Azu, a High Court judge sitting as an additional Circuit Court judge, further ordered that the event be postponed to a date beyond January 9, 2013.
The decision of the court was to allow the deployed police personnel to complete their assigned functions related to the inauguration of President John Dramani Mahama.
It was also to allow the police to perform their function of keeping the peace during demonstrations in the interest of public safety and security.
According to the Accra Regional Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Freeman Tettey, the leadership of the group had been duly served with the notice.
The court’s notice was to Mr Hopeson Adoye, the President of the Yong Patriots, as well as two other executive members of the group, Mr Richard Nyamah and Mr John Kumah.
Mr Tettey explained that the group had written to the police to seek their assistance to embark on a demonstration soon after the inauguration of the President.
He indicated that the police held a series of meetings with the group and impressed on it to cancel its intended demonstration, as police personnel deployed for the inaugural ceremony would still be at post even after the event.
He said despite several interactions, the leaders of the group insisted that they would embark on the demonstration, with or without the support of the police.
The decision of the group compelled the police to go to court to obtain a restraining order.
Mr Tettey said should the group go against the ruling, the police would employ every lawful means to stop the members from demonstrating.
The court, presided over by Mrs Naa Adoley Azu, a High Court judge sitting as an additional Circuit Court judge, further ordered that the event be postponed to a date beyond January 9, 2013.
The decision of the court was to allow the deployed police personnel to complete their assigned functions related to the inauguration of President John Dramani Mahama.
It was also to allow the police to perform their function of keeping the peace during demonstrations in the interest of public safety and security.
According to the Accra Regional Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Freeman Tettey, the leadership of the group had been duly served with the notice.
The court’s notice was to Mr Hopeson Adoye, the President of the Yong Patriots, as well as two other executive members of the group, Mr Richard Nyamah and Mr John Kumah.
Mr Tettey explained that the group had written to the police to seek their assistance to embark on a demonstration soon after the inauguration of the President.
He indicated that the police held a series of meetings with the group and impressed on it to cancel its intended demonstration, as police personnel deployed for the inaugural ceremony would still be at post even after the event.
He said despite several interactions, the leaders of the group insisted that they would embark on the demonstration, with or without the support of the police.
The decision of the group compelled the police to go to court to obtain a restraining order.
Mr Tettey said should the group go against the ruling, the police would employ every lawful means to stop the members from demonstrating.
Xmas was Hitch-free ----- Police Administration
The just-ended Christmas festivities were without any major security hitches, the Ghana Police Service has said.
According to the Police Administration, the atmosphere throughout the country was peaceful and no serious crime was recorded during the season.
A few robbery cases were, however, reported, mainly in Accra and Kumasi, but the police said the situation was managed well to arrest the suspected criminals.
The Director-General of Police Operations, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr John Kudalor, told the Daily Graphic in an interview in Accra yesterday that the national capital and all the regional capitals were peaceful.
The only challenge, he said, had been the heavy traffic which usually characterised Christmas celebrations.
He said in all the cases, personnel from the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service were on hand to direct traffic to ensure sanity on the roads.
Mr Kudalor said the Police Administration rolled out a comprehensive and well-planned security arrangement for the Christmas season which came shortly after the general election of December 7.
He said the service stationed mobile patrol teams in communities nationwide in order to offer help to citizens or visitors in times of distress.
According to Mr Kudalor, to prevent robbers from attacking traders who had to travel to the national capital and the regional capitals to do some trading or shopping, police patrol vehicles were stationed at all vantage points at the various markets.
Additionally, all the major highways in the country, such as Accra to Kumasi, Aflao, Elubo, Paga, Koforidua, Hohoe and Takoradi, as well as Sunyani or Techiman to Tamale and Wa, were provided with 24-hour security patrols to ensure that members of the public got to their destinations safely.
Unlike in previous years when much attention was paid to strategising against the activities of criminals during the period, the service decided to strategise for the criminals, as well as provide the needed security for the citizenry to ensure that they celebrated the Yuletide peacefully.
As part of the security arrangements, the mobile patrol teams which were dispatched were visible throughout the country and that might have sent strong signals to the criminals that the intelligence searchlight was on them, tracking and monitoring all their nefarious activities.
Mr Kudalor warned criminals to, in their own interest and in the interest of peace and security in the country, abandon their plans, as the police knew their identities, movements and motives.
“They are constantly being monitored and will be crushed if they make any attempt to disrupt the peace,” he said.
“We should remember that we are all equal before the law and the law is no respecter of persons. We, as security officers, are charged by law to deal with crime and criminals,” he added.
Mr Kudalor said road crashes during festivities were of grave concern to the Police Service, as a result of which policemen were also dispatched on the highways, especially those that were accident prone, to check speeding, a major cause of the crashes on the roads.
He said the Police Administration had taken delivery of over 1,000 vehicles to enable the service to provide adequate and prompt security for Ghanaians.
He urged members of the public to report any suspicious activities within their communities by dialing the toll-free lines.
According to the Police Administration, the atmosphere throughout the country was peaceful and no serious crime was recorded during the season.
A few robbery cases were, however, reported, mainly in Accra and Kumasi, but the police said the situation was managed well to arrest the suspected criminals.
The Director-General of Police Operations, Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr John Kudalor, told the Daily Graphic in an interview in Accra yesterday that the national capital and all the regional capitals were peaceful.
The only challenge, he said, had been the heavy traffic which usually characterised Christmas celebrations.
He said in all the cases, personnel from the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service were on hand to direct traffic to ensure sanity on the roads.
Mr Kudalor said the Police Administration rolled out a comprehensive and well-planned security arrangement for the Christmas season which came shortly after the general election of December 7.
He said the service stationed mobile patrol teams in communities nationwide in order to offer help to citizens or visitors in times of distress.
According to Mr Kudalor, to prevent robbers from attacking traders who had to travel to the national capital and the regional capitals to do some trading or shopping, police patrol vehicles were stationed at all vantage points at the various markets.
Additionally, all the major highways in the country, such as Accra to Kumasi, Aflao, Elubo, Paga, Koforidua, Hohoe and Takoradi, as well as Sunyani or Techiman to Tamale and Wa, were provided with 24-hour security patrols to ensure that members of the public got to their destinations safely.
Unlike in previous years when much attention was paid to strategising against the activities of criminals during the period, the service decided to strategise for the criminals, as well as provide the needed security for the citizenry to ensure that they celebrated the Yuletide peacefully.
As part of the security arrangements, the mobile patrol teams which were dispatched were visible throughout the country and that might have sent strong signals to the criminals that the intelligence searchlight was on them, tracking and monitoring all their nefarious activities.
Mr Kudalor warned criminals to, in their own interest and in the interest of peace and security in the country, abandon their plans, as the police knew their identities, movements and motives.
“They are constantly being monitored and will be crushed if they make any attempt to disrupt the peace,” he said.
“We should remember that we are all equal before the law and the law is no respecter of persons. We, as security officers, are charged by law to deal with crime and criminals,” he added.
Mr Kudalor said road crashes during festivities were of grave concern to the Police Service, as a result of which policemen were also dispatched on the highways, especially those that were accident prone, to check speeding, a major cause of the crashes on the roads.
He said the Police Administration had taken delivery of over 1,000 vehicles to enable the service to provide adequate and prompt security for Ghanaians.
He urged members of the public to report any suspicious activities within their communities by dialing the toll-free lines.
Some Major Roads Blocked to Traffic
Some major roads in Accra will be closed to traffic on Monday because of the swearing in of President John Dramani Mahama at the Independence Square in Accra on January 7, 2013.
They are the 28th February Road from the Headquarters of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to the Castle Junction; the Osu Cemetery Traffic Light-Lokko Street road, from the Osu Cemetery (Starlets 95 Road) to the Ministries Traffic Light and the Castle Road from the AU Circle to the Osu Cemetery Traffic Light.
A statement issued by the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) said because of the closure, the road from the AU Circle towards the Castle Road through the Osu Cemetery Traffic Light would be diverted onto the 2nd and 3rd Avenue roads to take a detour through the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) and link up with the Abdul Nasser Road near the British High Commission.
It said traffic emanating from the 28th February Road towards the Independence Square would be diverted onto the Liberia Road at the Headquarters of the Customs Division of the GRA towards the National Theatre Traffic Light Intersection.
The statement advised motorists from Osu to use the Sir Quist/Kinbu Road.
Similarly, traffic flowing from the Lokko Street towards the Castle Road would be diverted onto the Starlets 95 Road.
According to the Second-in-Command at the Nima MTTU, Chief Superintendent S. K. Tetteh, in a bid to minimise inconvenience to invited guests and members of the public attending the event, the following areas had been designated as car parks for various holders of invitation cards: the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) for yellow sticker holders who are mainly members of the Diplomatic Corps and foreign guests; the Forecourt of the State House for green sticker holders who are Members of Parliament (MPs), former ministers of state and former deputy ministers, while the Access Bank, formerly Intercontinental Bank, is strictly for red sticker or red invitation card holders only.
The Accra Sports Stadium car park is strictly for blue and green invitation card holders, while the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park is for black sticker holders.
The Independence Square car parks are for purple sticker holders only who are the VVIPs.
According to the statement, buses would be provided to shuttle all invited dignitaries from their designated car parks to the venue.
No vehicle, apart from vehicles with purple stickers, will be allowed within the enclave of the Independence Square.
No motorbike will be permitted into the enclave of the square.
The statement said police officers would be assigned to direct and assist motorists to the appropriate car parks and diverted roads, respectively.
It, therefore, advised motorists to avoid parking their vehicles within the perimeter of the Independence Arch and on the verges of the roads.
They are the 28th February Road from the Headquarters of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to the Castle Junction; the Osu Cemetery Traffic Light-Lokko Street road, from the Osu Cemetery (Starlets 95 Road) to the Ministries Traffic Light and the Castle Road from the AU Circle to the Osu Cemetery Traffic Light.
A statement issued by the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) said because of the closure, the road from the AU Circle towards the Castle Road through the Osu Cemetery Traffic Light would be diverted onto the 2nd and 3rd Avenue roads to take a detour through the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) and link up with the Abdul Nasser Road near the British High Commission.
It said traffic emanating from the 28th February Road towards the Independence Square would be diverted onto the Liberia Road at the Headquarters of the Customs Division of the GRA towards the National Theatre Traffic Light Intersection.
The statement advised motorists from Osu to use the Sir Quist/Kinbu Road.
Similarly, traffic flowing from the Lokko Street towards the Castle Road would be diverted onto the Starlets 95 Road.
According to the Second-in-Command at the Nima MTTU, Chief Superintendent S. K. Tetteh, in a bid to minimise inconvenience to invited guests and members of the public attending the event, the following areas had been designated as car parks for various holders of invitation cards: the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) for yellow sticker holders who are mainly members of the Diplomatic Corps and foreign guests; the Forecourt of the State House for green sticker holders who are Members of Parliament (MPs), former ministers of state and former deputy ministers, while the Access Bank, formerly Intercontinental Bank, is strictly for red sticker or red invitation card holders only.
The Accra Sports Stadium car park is strictly for blue and green invitation card holders, while the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park is for black sticker holders.
The Independence Square car parks are for purple sticker holders only who are the VVIPs.
According to the statement, buses would be provided to shuttle all invited dignitaries from their designated car parks to the venue.
No vehicle, apart from vehicles with purple stickers, will be allowed within the enclave of the Independence Square.
No motorbike will be permitted into the enclave of the square.
The statement said police officers would be assigned to direct and assist motorists to the appropriate car parks and diverted roads, respectively.
It, therefore, advised motorists to avoid parking their vehicles within the perimeter of the Independence Arch and on the verges of the roads.
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