Poku's House besieged

Page 63: January 17, 2008
Story: Albert K. Salia
FORMER national security chief, Mr Francis Poku and members of his household were today besieged by heavily armed policemen who prevented them from going out or receiving visitors.
It took the intervention of the Chief of Defence Staff, Lt Gen J. B. Danquah for the personnel of the Critical Incidence Response Team, drawn from the Ghana Police Service, to withdraw from Mr Poku’s residence.
Soon after, a new group of armed policemen were brought in but the Director-General of Police Operations, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Mr Patrick Timbillah also came in to instruct the armed men to leave with some having to sit in his car.
Meanwhile, a statement from the Office of the President, Castle, Osu, said “after Mr Francis Poku was relieved of his position as Minister of National Security on Saturday January 12, 2008, the national Security Council, as is routine and in conformity with world-wide practice, initiated a process of debriefing and completing a handing-over procedure”.
The statement signed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mrs Oboshie Sai-Cofie, said “this morning, Mr Francis Poku’s security detail, which was a military detail, was replaced with police as is the norm with all ministers.”
It expressed surprise that the detail met some press men at the premises who apparently misunderstood their presence and carried the news in an exaggerated fashion, calling the incident a “house arrest”.
“This statement is to confirm that Mr Francis Poku is NOT and has not been under house arrest, and that the events of this morning have been the routine workings of National Security, Mr Francis Poku as a security professional himself is very much aware of these routine procedures,” it said.
It assured the nation that the on-going events are in the best interest of the country.
Earlier when Graphic got to the scene, Mr Poku, who was flanked by his children, had attempted to come out of the gate to usher his elder brother, sister and other relatives into the house, but was prevented by the armed policemen with the explanation that they had not received any instructions from the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Patrick Acheampong, to allow Mr Poku out or allow anyone into the house.
Mr Poku reacted angrily saying “I do not take instructions from the IGP” and ushered in his guests.
From his demeanour, Mr Poku looked well composed and unperturbed by the events around him and scores of curious journalists had gathered around his residence, capturing every movement including the movement of security men coming in and going out with different cars.
An army officer, who seemed worried about the high degree alert of the armed policemen, advised the journalists to move away from the residence so that they were not caught up in any mishap should the unexpected happen, a warning which made some of the journalists develop gooze pimples and began looking for safer positions.
In the heat of the events, Mr Poku told the Daily Graphic on phone that the armed policemen came into the house at about 8:30am claiming they were under instructions not to let him or any member of his household leave the house.
He said he was told that his bodyguards and other security detail had also been withdrawn.
He said when he asked the reason for the restriction on his movement and that of his household, the policemen said they did not know.
“My brother, I have nothing to hide,” he stated.
Mr Poku said he had earlier been told that his name had been mentioned in connection with the issuance of a diplomatic passport to Mr Thomas Osei, the man who drove his car into the President’s car last November, an accusation he denied.
Inside the house, Mr Poku later told Daily Graphic that he had been preparing his handing over notes since Saturday, saying that “even this morning, they were here for correction of the notes and I made some additions”.
Daily Graphic learnt from other sources that the National Security Co-ordinator, Dr Sam Amoo, had called Mr Poku on Tuesday and asked him to appear the following day (today) before a National Security Council panel, but Mr Poku told Dr Amoo that he had to submit his handing over notes before any debriefing was done as was the practice.
Other intelligence and legal sources criticised the exercise, saying debriefing was not done under compulsive circumstances unless the person was under arrest.
The intelligence sources said the fact that Mr Poku had not stepped in his office since Saturday indicated that he had nothing to hide.
A lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Legon, Dr Raymond Atuguba, described the operation as illegal.
He said to restrict the movement of someone without telling him or her the reasons for the action, was against the liberties of that person.
He quoted Article 14 of the 1992 Constitution and the Criminal Procedure Code, Act 30, as prescribing the procedures under which someone’s movement could be circumscribed.
“Those officers have violated every provision of the law. Once you place restrictions on his movement, then you have put him under arrest,” he said.
The Africa Co-ordinator of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), Nana Oye Lithur, described the incident as very unfortunate.
She said it was not only unlawful but also unconstitutional and illegal.
She said to do this to a security chief has its own security implications as tensions were bound to shoot up.
“What information were they acting on? I am certain they would be conscious with the swift public reaction and sit up,” she said.