Private legal practitioner and member of the legal team of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has lampooned banks in the country who use the services of the police without securing their safety as escorts for their bullion vans.
The South Dayi lawmaker stated that the yet-to-be-identified bank in question whose bullion van was robbed in Jamestown leading to the death of General Constable Emmanuel Osei, was negligent in securing the safety of the slain officer.
He has however sided with the Inspector General of Police(IGP) James Oppong Boanuh calling for financial institutions in the country who engage the services of the police for escorts to use bulletproof bullion vans or risk losing the police in the security of their capital.
Mr Dafeamekpor said this in an interview with Johnnie Hughes on the New Day show on TV3, Tuesday, June 15.
He was reacting on the heels of the flagrant attack on a bullion van by two armed robbers on motorbike of a company called Mon-Tran Company, killing the police officer and a bystander who tried to raise alarm to the heist at Adedenko Metal market in Jamestown.
“The bank in question has been negligent in securing the safety of the officer because you see, the protection that he was offering for the cash and the other part is that they were hopping from shop to shop in collecting bulk cash. That alone is a recipe for criminals to monitor them, now criminals don’t just get up and strike, they monitor you before they strike.
“So, I’m sure they must have monitored them, knew the collection point, the time that they go around doing the collection, they must have monitored since morning and determined how much money they must have collected so far, it was sufficient enough for them to strike. And he was shot through the window, even stones are cracking windows so why wouldn’t bullet? This is unacceptable”, he charged.
According to the police, the driver of the bullion van escaped from the scene of the crime and the body of Afua Badu aged about 40, the onlooker who tried to raise alarm was found in a pool of blood in a nearby wooden structure.
The police have begun investigations into the robbery to nab the criminals who are still at large.
By Barima Kwabena Yeboah|3news.com|Ghana