Police discredits purpose of national prayer service

The Ghana Police Service has debunked media reports that a scheduled national prayer session to be held on Sunday, February 4 is in response to the recent attacks on and subsequent deaths of its personnel.

A letter of invitation dated Friday, January 26, 2017 from the Religious Affairs Department (RAD) of the Service to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) requested the presence of the Police Management Board (POMAB) to a prayer session to be held in all Police Churches across the country.

The letter highlighted that the purpose of the gathering is to call for “safety and divine protection” of all police.

Read also: Police Service to hold national prayer service following attacks

“This has become very necessary and imperative considering the recent spate of adversarial killings of service officers… It behoves upon us as the clergy of the Service to beseech the divine protection for all serving officers” the letter said.

“We believe and are highly convinced that with divine intervention, the recent death shadow cast on the Police Administration would reduce if not wane out,” it added.

But a statement issued on Tuesday, January 30 and signed by the Director of Public Affairs of the Service, DSP Sheilla Kessie Abayie-Buckman said the letter is routine in nature.

“The RAD is a unit of the Ghana Police Service, which exists to ensure the spiritual welfare and psychosocial development of Police Officers. This request is routine in nature and does not amount to an announcement of a prayer session by the Police Administration, as some section of the media want the public to believe,” the statement said.