The Inspector General of Police, Mr Christian Tetteh Yohuno’s collaborative efforts with sub-regional counterparts is yielding impressive results. This was made known in an interview he granted to a section of the media over the weekend.
In his first 132 days in office, IGP Mr Yohuno has proven himself to be a formidable force against cross-border crimes in the sub-region.
It came out that through strategic collaborations with his counterparts in Nigeria, Liberia and Togo, Yohuno’s men have successfully apprehended hardened criminals who had been terrorizing the sub-region.
One notable achievement is the arrest of individuals involved in the kidnapping of two women from Ghana who were taken to Nigeria.
The swift action by the Ghana Police Service, in collaboration with Nigerian authorities, led to the rescue of the victims and the apprehension of the perpetrators.
Another significant breakthrough is the capture of individuals who attempted to set on fire the Capitol Building, which is housing the Legislative Assembly of Liberia and escaped to Ghana. The Police worked closely with Liberian authorities to track down and nabbed the suspects, bringing them to justice.
IGP Yohuno’s efforts have also led to apprehension of ‘Lone Ranger’, a notorious individual declared wanted by both Togolese and Ghanaian security agencies.His arrest is seen as a significant victory in the fight against cross-border crimes.
These achievements demonstrate Mr Yohuno’s commitment to intelligence-led policing and his dedication to ensuring the safety and security of the citizens south of the Sahara.
Under his leadership, the Ghana Police Service has shown its ability to work effectively with international partners to tackle such crimes. IGP Yohuno’s impressive start has earned him recognition as a crime fighter who gets results.
According to him, on the local front, hitherto, prior to his assumption of office, the country was recording between thirty and forty robberies on weekly basis, but later from twenty-nine to nineteen.
Currently, the cases have reduced drastically to ten and he is optimistic that they may soon witness single digit in the weeklies.
The Regional Commanders, he said, seem to be in healthy competition among themselves, as to whose jurisdiction remains safer for citizens to go about their businesses without fear of attacks from criminals.
To achieve this, the Commanders have resorted to being on the ground instead of holding themselves in their offices.
IGP Yohuno cited a number of cases in which his men and women on the ground excelled including the arrest of some motorbikers at Atadeka/Katamanso.
Police at snapcheckpoint intercepted two motorbike riders and unsatisfied with their demeanour detained them over a number of high tech mobile phones in their possession.
Few minutes later, they got to know that one of the phones was snatched from a Policewoman near the Nungua barrier whose neck they slit with a cutlass and sped off.
The foiled robbery attempt at Cantonments, in which a gang of two who were kingpins in the north decided to extend their illegal activities to Accra, their activities got to the Police Intelligence Department (PID) who won an exchange of fire battle sending them to be part of statistics at the morgue.
The IGP also said the Police Management Board (POMAB) created a Special Anti-Robbery Taskforce, which is deployed at all times to robbery prone areas so as to subdue the activities of criminal elements, especially on the highways, notably at Atebubu and Donkorkrom, among others.
He went on that police’s intensified operations will be boosted when the President’s promise to retool the service begins to arrive soon. The galamsey fight was not missing in the interesting conversation stating that on ascending to the highest position in the police service, he assured the President to fight the disturbing situation.
Without waiting, he mobilised and went into action, first at Samreboi, Bui, and continued to other galamsey enclaves.
According to him, the hardworking personnel seized at least 178 excavators alongside other illegal mining related equipment being used to destroy the forests and water bodies.
On loyalty of the personnel fighting the menace, he stated that since familiarity breeds contempt, he transferred the commanders in these areas and deployed forces from Accra, who themselves were under the surveillance of plainclothes intelligence groups.
Regarding Ablekuma North, the police boss states that he issued an ultimatum to the Accra Regional Police Commander to apprehend the culprits or risks transferred.
The Chief Constable intimated that, the directive was carried to the letter and those apprehended are being processed for court.
On the pending Akwatia by-election, he did not mince words to say that, the police administration was going to replicate the strategy used at Assin North, which was violence-free.
Even though the Electoral Commission is yet to fix the date for that important election, police’s intelligence is already at work there to ensure that it turns out peaceful, IGP Yohuno concludes.
On the welfare of his men and women, IGP, Yohuno opined that he came to inherit a situation where a section of the rank and file became disillusioned because their promotions were denied them.
So as to bring back their morale, he ensured that all backlog of promotions are cleared.
He ended on a rather humanitarian note by stating that he has personally engaged an Indian world renowned kidney transplant specialist who will be in the country briefly at the invitation of President John Dramani Mahama to work at the University of Ghana Medical Center (UGMC).
The specialist, he said, has agreed to consider assisting police with such problems during the limited period that he would be available.
Presently, about eight members of the police and in some cases families are undergoing dialysis treatment.
