POLICE TO REWARD INFORMANTS (PAGE 29)

STORY: Zakaria Alhassan, Tamale

THE Northern Regional Police Command has offered an amount of GH¢ 2,000 to anyone who will volunteer information leading to the arrest of those behind the killing of Corporal Frank Mensah Kpeglo in Tamale.
A Tamale-based philanthropist, who wants to remain anonymous, has also offered an additional amount of GH¢2,000 for any information on the murderers.
The police officer, who was on duty at the residence of the Deputy Northern Regional Police Commander, near the West End Hospital, on the night of February 14, 2008, was found dead the following morning with his A.K. 47 assault rifle nowhere to be found
The motive for the killing of the police officer is not known, neither has any arrest been made yet in connection with the murder.
This was contained in a statement issued to the press in Tamale on Wednesday and signed by the Northern Regional Police Commander, who is also in charge of Special Duties in the northern sector, Commissioner of Police Ephraim Okoe Brakatu.
‘‘The police suspect foul play and as such have ordered full-scale investigations into the matter,’’ the statement said.
It added that as a ‘‘result of the efforts of the police to clamp down on criminal activities and pursue the perpetrators of crime to face the full rigours of the law, we have offered an amount of GH¢2,000 to whoever volunteers information leading to the arrest of the suspects.’’
The statement entreated any member of the public with any credible information that could lead to the arrest of the suspects to kindly contact the Police Command either in person or on phone.
‘‘Informants are assured of their anonymity and protection,’’ the statement said.
In a related development, the Concerned Citizens Association of Tamale (CCAT) has also condemned the killing of the police officer, which it described as unprecedented in the metropolis.
‘‘This is not only cruel but also an irresponsible act that threatens the relations that should exist between the security forces and the civilian population in this area,’’ the association stated.
The president of the association, Mr Alhassan Basharu Daballi, further called on those unscrupulous elements, who are engaged in acts of insecurity in the metropolis to desist from such conduct since it threatened the prevailing peace and stability in the area.
He also appealed to the leadership of both the Andani and Abudu royal families to exercise caution in the handling of the protracted Dagbon chieftaincy dispute.
For instance, Mr Daballi cited the announcements on radio stations by both gates calling on their followers to meet every now and then and said, ‘‘this development raises people’s apprehension about the acts of violence being threatened’’.
‘‘We wish further to call on all well-meaning citizens of this area to assist the security forces by volunteering information that will lead to the arrest of these self-seeking individuals who are bent on profiting from the insecurity in Dagbon,’’ he stated.
The president of the association also urged residents to heed the appeal by the police command and volunteer information on the killing of the police officer, ‘‘for we as civilians believe that demonstrating this civic responsibility will encourage the security forces to carry out their mandate of protecting us the very citizens of this place’’.