Disqualification blues... Police on heels of subscribers for allegedly committing electoral offences
The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service is on the heels of nine people who allegedly committed various forms of fraud in endorsing the nominations of eight presidential aspirants to contest the December 7 polls.
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According to the CID, although the leadership of the affected political parties had given an assurance that they would produce the culprits, they had failed to do so.
Those wanted by the police are Salifu Abdulai, Adu Thomas, Alfred Yevuglo, Richard Aseda, Amadu Babia Latifa, Amadu Ayuba, Owusu Stephen, Abdulai Mariama, also known as Fusheini Mariama and Abaako Issifu.
Breaches
In an interview in Accra last Wednesday, the Director-General of the CID, Mr Prosper Kwame Agblor, said Salifu of the National Democratic Party (NDP); Mariama and Owusu, both of the Reform Democratic Party (RDP) engaged in the offence of multiple registration.
Ayuba subscribed for both the People’s National Convention (PNC) and the All People’s Congress (APC), while Adu and Yevuglo subscribed for both the Independent People’s Party (IPP) and the United Front Party (UFP).
Latifa, on the other hand, subscribed for both the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) and the UFP, while Aseda subscribed twice for the Progressive People’s Party (PPP).
According to Mr Agblor, the suspects’ action had breached Article 63 of the 1992 Constitution, the Criminal Offences Act, Act 29, the Public Elections Regulations, 2016, C.I. 94 and PNDCL 284.
Action taken
The Director-General of CID explained that Adu and Yevuglo were granted police enquiry bail after their caution statements had been obtained.
“On October 14, 2016, the General Secretary of the APC, Razak Opoku, reported at the unit and a statement was obtained from him. He promised to assist the police in their investigations.
“The PNC’s Greater Accra Regional Secretary, Mr Ciba Salifu Shabiku, on October 17, 2016, reported at the CID, having being invited formally. A statement was obtained from him and he too promised to co-operate with the police in investigations,” he said.
Mr Agblor said on October 17, 2016, the PNC’s National Chairman, Mr Bernard Mornah, and the National Organiser, Nana Ntow Desmond, were contacted on their respective cell phones to report themselves to the CID.
On the same October 17, 2016, Dr Nana Agyenim Boateng, the disqualified presidential nominee of the UFP was contacted on phone and he intimated that he and his national executive members were not in Accra. He, however, promised to report himself at the unit to assist in investigations.
“The following day, the PPP National Chairman, in the person of Mr Allotey Brew-Hammond, and the General Secretary, Murtala Mohammed Ahmed, together with their lawyer, Dennis Ofosu Appea, reported at the unit and informed the police that the suspected subscriber, Aseda, had endorsed the presidential nominee form and gave his voter ID, polling station code and the polling station at Atonkor in the Jasikan District in the Volta Region.
“They indicated that the suspect did not subscribe twice for the same party, as alleged by the EC, and promised to make Aseda available to assist in investigations,” he said.
Mr Agblor said on October 13, 2016, Adu of Drobonsu in the Sekyere Afram Plains District in the Ashanti Region and Yevuglo of the Adaklu District in the Volta Region reported themselves at the CID to assist the police in their investigations.
The two subscribers are alleged to have subscribed for the IPP’s presidential nominee, Mr Kofi Akpalu, and the UFP, led by Dr Nana Agyenim Boateng.
“We have tasked our men to arrest the subscribers because we cannot continue to sit and wait for the political parties to produce them,” the Director-General of the CID said.
“We are on the look out for them for questioning,” he explained.
Background
The EC, on Monday, October 10, 2016, disqualified 12 presidential aspirants from contesting the December 7, 2016 elections for various reasons ranging from forgery, impersonation to perjury.
Three days later, it forwarded a complaint against the subscribers for eight aspirants to the CID for investigations.
Wanted persons
The EC’s complaint to the CID was against the subscribers for the NDP, IPP, UFP, PPP, GCPP, APC, PNC and RPD.
Meanwhile, the EC boss, Mrs Charlotte Osei, has submitted a written statement to the police.
She presented her statement on Wednesday, October 19, 2016.
