Parliament summons Interior Minister over death of two robbery suspects
Parliament has summoned the Minister for the Interior, Mr Ambrose Dery, to appear before it to brief the House on the circumstances that led to the death of two suspects at Sepe, near Asokore Mampong, in the Ashanti Region last Wednesday.
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They were in the custody of the police at the time of their death.
The minister is expected to brief the House on or before November 22, 2017, "on the circumstance leading to the death of the gentlemen in the custody of the police".
The First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu, gave the order following a request made by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Asawase and Minority Chief Whip, Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka, for the Minister for the Interior to inform the House about the development.
The police in Kumasi gunned down two suspected armed robbers, Lukeman Mohammed and Awudu Osman, who allegedly attempted to flee when they were aiding the police to carry out a search for weapons they used for their operations in Kumasi.
They are said to have jumped from a storey building where they were hiding a pistol they had allegedly used for separate robbery operations in the Kumasi Metropolis (the Head of Public Affairs Unit of the Regional Police Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Juliana Obeng, had reportedly said).
Police custody
Alhaji Muntaka said the two suspects were in the custody of the police for some days assisting in investigations.
He said he had briefings from the Deputy Minister for the Interior, Mr Henry Quartey, and the Ashanti Regional Police Commander that the suspects had on three occasions led the police to search for weapons but nothing was found.
Alhaji Muntaka said three days ago, the police again went with the suspects in search of weapons at Sepe, near Asokore Mampong, around 10p.m.
He said the suspects were said to have tried to abscond and the police shot at them leading to their death.
Alhaji Muntaka said everyone could be held as a suspect, and added that it was wrong for suspects to lose their lives in police custody.
Therefore, he said, it was crucial to unravel the circumstances that led to the death of the suspects.
For instance, he said the number of police officers who accompanied the suspects and whether the suspects were handcuffed needed to be known.
Appeal for calm
Alhaji Muntaka said tension was brewing among the youth at Aboabo in view of the manner in which the suspects were killed.
He appealed to the youth to remain calm as steps were being taken to address the issue.
Majority leader
The Majority Leader, Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, said per the explanations given by Alhaji Muntaka, there were outstanding issues that needed to be clarified.
He, therefore, supported the suggestion for Parliament to find space to get the Minister for the Interior to brief the House on the issue.
