Police, Ministry Clash Over Kojo Armah C'ttee Report

The Ministry of the Interior and the Ghana Police Service have clashed over the setting up of a committee by the Police Administration to act on the Kojo Armah Committee's Report on the missing cocaine saga. Describing its action as a proactive one, the Police Administration announced yesterday that it had set up a three-member committee to investigate the conduct of Chief Superintendent Alphonse Adu-Amankwah and Detective Chief Inspector Paul Brenya Bediako, who were both indicted in the Kojo Armah Report. In reaction to that, the Minister of State at the Ministry of the Interior, Nana Obiri Boahen, described the police action as an exercise in futility that would serve no purpose. . The police committee is chaired by a retired Commissioner of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Mr P. N. Cobbinah, and includes Commissioner of Police (Mrs) Joana Osei-Poku, the Director-General, Human Resource Development of the Police Service and ACP Daniel Avorga, the Commander of the MTTU and Immediate Past Director of Legal and Prosecutions of the Ghana Police Service. It was given up to May 26, 2008 to submit its report. The police action came as a surprise to many who were of the view that since the original committee had been set up by the Ministry of the Interior, any review or further investigations of its work should be done by the Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General. When contacted, however the Director of Police Public Affairs, DSP Kwesi Ofori, explained that the Inspector-General of Police, Mr P. K. Acheampong, was being proactive on the committee's recommendations. He said the Minister of the Interior, Mr Kwamena Bartels, forwarded a copy of the committee's report to the IGP and after studying it the IGP decided to put "his house in order". When asked if Mr Bartels had instructed the IGP to act on the report, DSP Ofori answered in the negative. He said the IGP only wanted to streamline things before the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General came out with his advice. DSP Ofori said the IGP, in his letter of May 7, 2008, setting up the committee copied the Interior Minister, among other. Nonetheless, Nana Obiri Boahen told the Dailv Graphic that the Report of the Kojo Armah Conimittee was now functus officio, meaning that not even the Ministry of the Interior or the members of the Kojo Armah Committee could review or conduct further investigations into the report or aspects of it unless the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General had advised the government to that effect. Nana Boahen said the formation of any such committee would be untenable and unacceptable and it should be treated with contempt. He said the government was working with the committee's report and not what any other person or group of people would come up with. He said the ministry had confidence in the members of the first committee and advised that the impression should not be created that that committee did not do its work well. "It is only the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General who can advise appropriately on the committee's work," he added. Nana Boahen said based on what advice the Attorney General's office puts out, the government would issue a White Paper on the issue.