Counsel for aggrieved police officers involved in a legal tussle with the police hierarchy, Abdul Issifu, has clarified that his clients are in court to challenge the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr. George Akuffo Dampare’s unilateral decision to transfer them elsewhere.
Disputing media reports about the reason behind their legal action on GHOne TV news with Lily Mohammed, the Lawyer stated that it was “rather lamentable and regrettable” that the facts had been misreported.
He said the IGP did not have the authority to effect such transfers although successive IGPs have done so.
The lawyer that the power to transfer, which lay with the National Transfer Board had been usurped by Dr. Dampare.
“The reason why we are in court is to challenge an illegal, you know, transfer and also to make sure that the constitutional and the police service regulations is respected when it comes to issues of movement and pushing of tasks.
“The police service regulation 38 says that for any transfer to be done and for it to be deemed valid, it must be done by the National Transfer Board.
“The transfer board is supposed to comprise of Director of CID, Director of Welfare, Director of Criminal Investigations and others. Unfortunately, that is not the case. It is the Inspector General of Police, Dan Parikh, who is actually allocated to himself the power to do transfer,” he said to Lily Mohammed on GHOne TV.
Mr. Isifu noted that they were praying the court to “set the transfer aside” in order to allow his clients to continue with their policing responsibilities.
He said it did not matter if the Deputy IGP, Christian Tetteh Yohuno had instructed them to defy the transfer, insisting that the instruction was not lawful.
In court documents, one of the police officers, Sgt David Ojeyim had alleged that Deputy IGP Yohuno had directly ordered them not to honour the transfers.
The counsel for the aggrieved officers said it was important that the IGP “be brought back to his limits”.
