Ghana’s Minister for Energy and Green Transition, Hon. Dr John Abdulai Jinapor, has formally petitioned the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), demanding a full and impartial investigation into the alleged assault on staff of the Ministry by two police officers last Thursday while they were commuting to work in one of the Ministry’s official buses.
The development was disclosed by Richmond Rockson, Spokesperson and Head of Communications at the Ministry of Energy and Green Transition.
He said the Minister expects the Ghana Police Service to act swiftly and decisively to ensure accountability, justice for the victims, and the restoration of public confidence in the professionalism and discipline of the Service.
“No citizen of this country should ever be subjected to such treatment, particularly at the hands of law enforcement officers who are mandated to protect lives and uphold the rule of law. The alleged justification for this assault—that staff of the Ministry ‘insulted’ the officers over reckless driving—is wholly indefensible and cannot, under any circumstances, warrant violence or abuse of power,” he stated in a Facebook post.
It will be recalled that two unidentified police officers travelling in a Toyota pickup allegedly assaulted staff members on board a Ministry of Energy and Green Transition bus and nearly killed an IT Department staff member at Kasoa Amanfrom along the Mallam–Kasoa Highway.
The incident reportedly occurred after staff on board the bus complained about the reckless driving of the police officers.
According to a source at the Ministry, the bus was travelling from Kasoa to the Ministry when it encountered a police pickup parked dangerously close to the middle of the road, making it difficult for the bus to merge onto the main highway.
After the bus successfully joined the highway, one of the staff members reportedly informed the pickup driver that the vehicle had been improperly parked.
The pickup is said to have followed the Ministry’s bus at high speed and cut across it dangerously. Although the bus driver managed to manoeuvre away, the pickup allegedly crossed the bus a second time.
A video of the incident seen by this portal shows occupants of the pickup, identified as police officers in plain clothes, stepping out of the vehicle and attacking Ministry staff through the windows of the bus.
The officers reportedly forced their way onto the bus, assaulted several staff members, and dragged Prince, an IT officer at the Ministry of Energy, off the bus.
He was allegedly beaten, forced into the pickup, and driven away.
The officers are also said to have seized his mobile phone to prevent him from communicating with colleagues or Ministry officials.
He was allegedly taken to the police headquarters, where he was detained for some time, before being transferred to the police hospital for medical treatment.
It took the intervention of the Ministry to secure his release.
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