By Elsie Appiah-Osei
Accra, July 11, GNA – Mr Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, has directed Mr Cyril K.O Nsiah, the Clerk to Parliament to present a copy of the report of the Adhoc Committee set up to investigate an alleged leaked tape on the plot to remove the Inspector General of Police from office to the President for any further action deemed necessary.
This followed the House’s adoption of the committee’s report on Wednesday.
The committee’s report which was not signed by its Chairman, Mr Samuel Atta Akyea revealed that the three senior Police Officers, Commissioner of Police, (COP) Alex George Mensah, Superintendent George Lysander Asare and Superintendent Emmanuel Eric Gyebi, misconducted themselves, a major offence under Police regulations, and ought to be sanctioned in accordance with the Police disciplinary procedure.
Mr Bagbin issuing a directive after the adoption of the report by the House, said: “The report is accordingly adopted. I can only direct that the clerk to parliament should make available a copy of this report, which has just been adopted by the house to his excellency, the president, as chairman of the police council for any further action, it deems necessary.”
Meanwhile, Mr Atta Akyea, the Chairman of the Committee, urged the House to reject the report of the committee, describing it as “anaemic and lacks substance for any Parliamentary action.”
“Mr Speaker, I want to submit with the greatest of respect that this report reduced parliament and the good committee of parliament to a conveyor belt that anything they drop on it should go. You do not just listen to people who come before a committee and that will bring you to a conclusion on the matter. You delve into the matters. A committee of parliament is not a conveyor belt. They’re supposed to delve into this matter. And on that showing, this report is so anaemic.”
“…Mr Speaker, the report lacks substance for plenary to find, with the greatest of respect any decision on it and to uphold this report. Yes. And I urge this House to reject this report because there is no foundation of evidence for this report. And we shouldn’t make a resolution based on such an anaemic report,” Mr Atta Akyea said.
In his debate, Mr James Agalga, the Vice Chairman of the Adhoc Committee, told the House that such comments were a misrepresentation of facts by the Chairman of the Committee.
“Mr Speaker, quite a number of issues have been raised, which constitutes a gross misrepresentation of the facts and of the report…in the course of the committee’s deliberations, the chairman had the opportunity to raise the arguments that he has canvassed before this House this evening that we could not elevate conspiracy to the level of our criminal jurisprudence under section 23 of the criminal and other offences act and we all agreed as a result of that intervention,” he said.
“Mr Speaker, if you look at the report, we did not use the definition of conspiracy under section 23 of the Criminal and Other Offenses Act. We borrowed the dictionary meaning of conspiracy and dealt with the matter as such,” Mr Agalga debated.
On Tuesday, July 11, 2023, a leaked audio recording, allegedly involved a Police Commissioner and a politician discussing a plot to remove IGP Dr Dampare from office before the 2024 general election circulated.
Consequently, the Minority Caucus in Parliament called for a probe into the matter.
Speaker Bagbin constituted a seven-member bi-partisan committee to authenticate the audio or otherwise and report back to Parliament the first week the House convened from recess.
The committee was made up of three members each from the Majority and Minority sides of Parliament, and a technical person.
The members were Mr Patrick Yaw Boamah, NPP MP for Okaikoi Central; Madam Ophelia Mensah, NPP MP for Mfantseman; Mr Eric Opoku, NDC MP for Asunafo South, and Mr Peter Lanchene Toobu, NDC MP for Wa West.
Dr Isaac Lartey Annang, a Lawyer and a human rights activist is the technical person appointed by Speaker Bagbin to assist the committee.
GNA