Posted: Daily Guide |Thursday, 10 March 2011
www.dailyguideghana.com
By Charles Takyi-Boadu
Supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) yesterday besieged the Police Headquarters in Accra in solidarity with the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin-North, Kennedy Agyapong, who had been invited by the police for questioning.
The supporters, some of whom were in party T-shirts, went to the headquarters of the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to give moral support to the man who was invited for questioning for allegedly threatening to kill Alhaji Bature, an apologist of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and publisher of The Al-Hajj newspaper.
Mr. Agyapong was alleged to have threatened to kill Mr. Bature during a radio interview on Asempa FM after the latter allegedly insulted the former’s mother and accused him of being a drug baron.
Moments after the MP arrived at the headquarters, his supporters rushed to his car and started shaking his hands.
After exchanging pleasantries, Mr. Agyapong and his three lawyers, including Kwame Gyan and Andy Appiah-Kubi, went to meet the police investigators.
At a point, the crowd became impatient with the attitude of the policemen manning the gate since they prevented close aides of the MP, including his father, from going pass it.
Journalists who wanted to enter the premises with their vehicles were equally asked to return.
About an hour-and-a- half later, Mr. Agyapong and his lawyers came out of the meeting with the police, wearing broad smiles.
They were however compelled to address journalists outside the main gate leading to the CID headquarters since the police would not open the gate for any individual or group of persons to enter the yard.
When they got there, Mr. Agyapong said they met two senior police officers who asked him to write his statement.
Though he admitted “they were very nice,” the Assin-North MP said “but I don’t underestimate anything.”
“I just told them I will meet him in court that’s all,” he said.
Generally, Mr. Appiah-Kubi said, the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere and that the police had commenced investigations into the allegation of ‘threat of death’ as claimed by Alhaji Bature.
Mr. Agyapong has not been charged since the officers only took a caution statement from him.
His lawyers wondered whether or not the police could sustain the allegation but stressed their preparedness to defend their client should the police decide to prosecute the case after gathering evidence.
They however declined reading political motives into their client’s invitation by the police.
Asked whether they were also contemplating on filing a civil suit against Bature, who alleged that the MP was a cocaine dealer, Mr. Appiah-Kubi said they would only take such a decision when their client mandated them.
Public Affairs Director of the CID, Chief Inspector Joseph Benefo Darkwa, said evidence was being gathered as part of the entire investigation since their duty was to protect lives and respect the human rights of every individual.
“Our encounter was very cordial and friendly as we will do to every individual.
We are conducting the investigations and whoever needs to be invited to give evidence in this matter will be invited accordingly. The ultimate is to find out the truth and protect life and property so we will do all that,” he told Citi FM.