We Are Not In Heaven – IGP Reacts To Calls For His Resignation

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), James Oppong-Boanuh has stated that despite the alarming rate of insecurity in the country, citizens should be modest in their expectations from the police.

According to him, several developed countries including the United States of America, United Kingdom are still battling with cases of robbery. Therefore, the recent spate of crime in the country, however alarming, is not peculiar to Ghana.

His apparent reaction to calls for his retirement was made during a visit Tuesday, to the family of the late Constable General, Emmanuel Osei, who was killed by armed robbers on Monday afternoon.

“We are doing what we can to protect the people of Ghana. There is no society in the world where there is no crime. Even in the USA, UK and Sweden, where they, more or less have everything, they still have crime. The only place that doesn’t have crime is heaven and we are not in heaven,” he said.

Residents of Adedenkpo, near James Town on Monday, were thrown into a state of shock after the gruesome murder of two persons during an attack on a bullion van by a group of armed robbers.

The two; police officer Emmanuel Osei and a hawker, Afua Badu, were declared dead while the driver of the van was admitted at the Korle-Bu teaching Hospital after sustaining several injuries.

This incident has left many on social media peeved and concerned about the poor state of security in the country.

According to security analyst, Adam Bonaa in an interview on JoyNews’ Top Story, Mr James Oppong-Boanuh should resign from his post as IGP due to his inability to bring an end to the rise in daylight robbery in the country.

“I am putting the blame at the doorsteps of the Police IGP and I am advocating that he should go, he has reached retirement, they have given him two extensions so he should go home for more enthusiastic, energised officers who are within the 60 years limit to take over and probably put a bit more enthusiasm into the Ghana Police,” he told Evans Mensah on Monday.

But allaying the fears of Ghanaians, the Inspector General of Police has stated that his outfit is resolving the challenges it is currently facing. He noted that more security personnel have been deployed on the roads to intensify patrol.

“Normally, in a security system, if you have a strategy and the strategy is breached, you go back, regroup and after making your assessment, you try to mend those breaches and that is exactly what we are going to do.

“We will intensify the patrols to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said.

Meanwhile, James Oppong-Boanuh has assured the bereaved family and the entire country that the culprits who orchestrated the gruesome murder of Emmanuel Osei and Afua Badu will be captured to face the full rigours of the law.

“We are investigating; which we have already set in motion. If you recall, yesterday we released a statement and before that I had instructed the CID to take over the case, and that is the level of seriousness we have attached to the case. So they have started investigations. And as I have indicated, we will definitely get them [the perpetrators].”