Lawyers for the National Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have challenged the state to arrest and prosecute him if they think he stole from the state.
Lead Counsel Samson Lardy Anyenini described the police’s continuous detention of Kofi Adams vehicles which are said to have been stolen from the state is the most lawless act by the state.
“It ought to be made clear that our client is not a criminal in any criminal process, we are unaware of any judicial or quasi-judicial process that is ongoing for which the said vehicles,” he said, “for our client to be taken through such a laughable process.”
Explaining his reasons for petitioning the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to Joy News’ Evans Mensah on Top Story Thursday, Mr Ayenini said it does not reason well that Mr Adams would direct that the vehicles were unlawfully taken from his house be kept at the Police Station.
The lawyer said it ought to be made clear that his client is not a suspect adding Mr Adams is under no obligation whatsoever to even be producing the documentation to the said vehicles.
In the petition written February 8 to David Asante Apeatu, Mr Anyenini narrated what lead to the vehicles ending up at the police station.
“Sir, the said vehicles (5) which are a matter of public knowledge, were wrongfully and unlawfully removed from our client’s Golf City residence in Tema on Wednesday, February 1, 2017, in a style and fashion reminiscent of excesses of the country’s dark past of unconstitutional rule.
Lead counsel for Kofi Adams, Samson Lardy Anyenini
“The group of men who engaged in the said unconstitutional conduct, criminal trespass, and violation in the face of our client’s guaranteed rights to privacy and property, have since been identified and understood to have acted on the unlawful instructions of state actors,” the petition said.
“You should know that the Honourable Minister for National Security, Mr Albert Kan Dapaah subsequently denounced the action, ordered the return the nature of the vehicles and apologised to our client while promising to discipline the said men,” the petition continued.
According to Mr Anyenini, when the vehicles were promptly returned to Mr Adam’s house, he directed that they first be put in the custody of the police for the chief purpose of independent inspection and inventory taking before he would accept them.
Upon returning to Ghana, Mr Adams sought police help to inspect and take back his cars only to be told by the police that they have a written instruction from a Presidential Staffer, Lord Commey, not to release the vehicles until purported investigations had been concluded.
He said the car documents of the two land cruisers which are in Mr Adams and his wife’s name were registered in 2013 and the other in August 2016.
The lead counsel said he is surprised that his client volunteered to give the police the documentation to the vehicles in contention adding “if they feel that he has done something wrong and they want to go through a criminal process, they should go ahead and go to court and prosecute their case.
“We will not be assisted by my client to continue this most lawless act that they are perpetrating on him.”
They are demanding that the IGP takes immediate steps to terminate the unlawful detention and release the cars forthwith.
In a related development, the new government has been tracking down more than 200 cars it said have been missing from the pool of cars at the Presidency.
Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin had said in an interview with some media houses that the President has been left with a BMW vehicle which was purchased in 2007 to use.
He said the situation has compelled the President to resort to the use of “his own Land Cruiser.”
“So vehicles right from 2007 when these Ghana at 50 vehicles were bought right down to now, if you go to the presidential pool, you cannot find any of them and it is not as if those are the only ones. There are lots of other vehicles,” he said.
Administrator General, David Yaro who is in charge of the list of state properties said there are 678 cars at the office of the President.
By:Myjoyonline
