The Ghana Police Service says they will internally investigate some ‘unfounded’ comments made by DCOP Mr Gabriel Prince Waabu during a panel discussion on JoyNews on Monday 19th February 2024.
The Police administration in a statement noted that DCOP Waabu's comment is not the stance of the police ahead of the December 7 general election.
“The statements made by DCOP Mr Gabriel Prince Waabu concerning election security are unfounded and do not represent the position of the Ghana Police Service.
“We would therefore like to disassociate the Ghana Police Service completely from the statements and apologize to the Ghana Armed Forces. The conduct of the officer is being subjected to internal disciplinary processes of the Ghana Police Service,” the police added.
What DCOP Mr Gabriel Prince Waabu said
A Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP), Prince Gabriel Waabu made some big disclosures about security arrangements for the 2024 general elections.
During an appearance on Joynews' Election Headquarters unveiling event in Accra, DCOP Waabu spoke about how deployments will be made and the issue of hotspots.
On deployments, he emphasized that election security remained a primary function of the police and that they would invite sister agencies if need be.
He stressed that the successes chalked in by-elections in 2023 would be built upon going into the general elections.
"Like how we organized all those elections within last year and whatever happened in 2022, a lesson has been learned out of it. We are not maybe going to involve the military, as it were because it was not even the police that came up with this issue.
"So, it's going to be only the police, prisons, fire and immigration that is going to conduct these elections. They are going to support us; it is our baby, it is the police's baby, but we will want to co-opt in our sister security to help in one way or the other," he explained.
Police Statement
Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com
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" We are not MAYBE going to involve the military" . DCOP Gabriel Waabu was not definite, he used the word " MAYBE". Nobody can run away from the fact that matters of internal security with our internal elections been part is the responsibility of the police. The IGP should and must know the the position of IGP is a title . His rank is that of Commissioner of Police (COP) . He should respect the other senior ranks. He is the not the first IGP and will definitely not be the last. Gabriel Waabu spoke from a professional point of view unless the police are telling us that they are not professionals and that without the military they can't single handedly tackle internal security matters in Ghana. Have you ever seen the U.S .military manning polling stations on Election Day ? Who is the IGP trying to satisfy, the military? This IGP is behaving like a bully. That cannot be a mark of a good leader.
The police service must be sensitive to the image and respect of its officers. If they want to discipline a high ranking official, should they announce it in the media? The rank of the officer in question is DCOP, the second highest rank in the Ghana police. It is like Lt General in the army. Have you ever heard the military make a press release about disciplining a Lt General? Can’t the police also manage their internal affairs with similar decorum and bring honour to their institution? In any case what the officer said is professionally apt. It looks like the IGP received some political backlash from people who don’t know security and he’s trying to make the DCOP a scapegoat. The IGP must stop this. Recently it was the Accra Regional Commander he queried and put it in the media. When the commander explained himself and also copied the media, the IGP punished him by transferring him from the region to the police service workshop. This callous abuse of the power of IGP needs to be checked before the unexpected happens.
Why, i don't see anything wrong with what DCOP Waabu said. It is a fact that matters of internal security is the mandate of the police. The military will normally come in when the police alone cannot the situation. What were the reasons for the military not visible in recent held district assembly elections? Why will such a harmless statement warrant an apology from the police? I don't get it.