Remove Kassena-Nankana Municipal Police Commander over rising robbery cases – IGP petitioned

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), James Oppong-Boanuh, has been petitioned to remove DSP Oppong Agyare Francis as the Kassena-Nankana Municipal Police Commander, over what the petitioner describes as his “lackadaisical approach” to rising cases of robberies in the area.

There have been several reports of armed robbery cases within the municipal capital, Navrongo, and its environs, the most recent being the broad daylight robbery of a Mobile Money agent adjacent the Navrongo police station.

In two weeks, over five incidents of robbery cases reportedly occurred, a situation which is said to have stirred fear and panic among residents, some of whom have vowed to protect themselves however possible.

A recent visit to the region by the IGP on the back of these insecurities did not make the situation any better.

The reaction of the municipal police commander to all of this in the view of the petitioner, one Mark Kubuga, smacks of incompetence and makes him “inapt for his current position”.

The petitioner makes specific reference to comments made by DSP Oppong Agyare Francis on March 4th, 2021 when he granted an interview to a local Radio Station, where is said to have blamed the youth of Navrongo for the increasing cases of robberies.  

He is a quoted as saying the cause of the robberies is that the youth of the area spend long hours in bushes with their girlfriends abandoning their motorbikes which get stolen.

“But you see, one will ask, how come that motors are snatched from people at that place [behind the police station] what do people go to do at that place at that time so that their motorbikes will be taken from them? Preliminary enquiries indicate that sometimes the youths go to those places hide in the darkness with women and be doing things that we can’t talk about on your platform… and they loose their guard, leave their motorbikes and will be on that thing for the motorbikes to be taken from them..”, He said.

This, the petitioner said does not only prove that the commander is not serious about his work but also insulting to the youth of Navrongo. He wants the command to retract and render an unqualified apology.

The petitioner thus implores the IGP as the head of the Ghana Police Service clothed with operational and administrative control under of the service Article 202 (2) of the Constitution of Ghana, 1992, to intervene and remove DSP Oppong Agyare Francis.  He believes that will make way for “crime detection and prevention”.

Meanwhile, the commander is expected to meet the Paramount Chief of Navrongo, Pɛ Denis Aneakwoa Balinia Adda, today on the way forward in fighting crime in the area.

By 3news.com|Ghana