The Chairman of the ad hoc committee investigating the leaked tape allegedly plotting to remove the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Samuel Atta Akyea, has dismissed the committee’s report as insufficient for any parliamentary action.
Atta Akyea, addressing Parliament, criticized the report for lacking the necessary evidence and logical foundation, urging his colleagues to reject it.
“This report reduced Parliament and the good committee of Parliament to a conveyor belt,” he stated. “A committee of Parliament is not a conveyor belt. They’re supposed to delve into this matter.”
The controversial report, unsigned by Atta Akyea, indicated that three senior police officers, COP Alex George Mensah, Supt. George Lysander Asare, and Supt. Emmanuel Eric Gyebi, had misconducted themselves.
This misconduct, deemed a major offence under police regulations, called for disciplinary action.
However, the Chairman argued that the conclusions drawn were baseless and lacked substantial evidence to justify any decisions.
“It lacks substance for plenary to find any decision on it,” Atta Akyea insisted.
In response to the Chairman’s remarks, the Vice Chairman of the ad hoc committee, James Agalga, refuted the claims, stating that the Chairman’s comments misrepresented the facts and the committee’s report. Agalga highlighted that the Chairman had the opportunity to raise his concerns during the committee’s deliberations but had not done so.
“Mr. Speaker, quite a number of issues have been raised, which constitute a gross misrepresentation of the facts and of the report,” he said.
Agalga further clarified that the committee did not rely on the criminal definition of conspiracy but rather a dictionary definition, to address the matter.
“If you look at the report, we did not use the definition of conspiracy under section 23 of the Criminal and Other Offenses Act. We borrowed the dictionary meaning of conspiracy and dealt with the matter as such,” he explained.
The debate over the report continues, with significant implications for the officers involved and the broader police disciplinary process.
