Court finds IGP guilty of contempt

The Inspector General of Police (IGP) has been found guilty of contempt of court.

He is expected to be sentenced on October 25, 2018 by the Accra High Court which found him guilty for failing to comply with the court’s order.

The IGP failed to provide police escort to assist with the eviction of occupants in 12 blocks of flats at Madina REDCO in Accra, as ordered by the court.

The occupants in the 12 blocks of flats under dispute happens to be police personnel.

The court is livid with the IGP because he disobeyed its orders to provide security for the execution of the order, which is for the sale of the 12 blocks of flats at REDCO.

The case has traveled from 1988 when a woman, Mrs Aggrey now deceased filed the case against REDCO Company Limited. Samuel Aggrey Jnr and Augustine Gyekye took over the case.

Mrs Aggrey argued that REDCO failed to pay an amount of money owed her.

She won the case as the court in its judgment attached the property, the 12 blocks flats at Madina in Accra.

It was decided that if REDCO failed to pay the money, the court will sell the property to retrieve the money for her.

REDCO appealed the decision and lost and even before the court ruled on the matter, REDCO gave out the property to the Ghana Police Service to accommodate some of its officers.

Along the line, the police service reportedly purchased the property from REDCO and claimed ownership.

The applicants then went back to court to seek an order for the police to vacate the property and rather help to execute the High Court order to sell the property.

But the police failed to do that and instead claimed ownership of the property. The lawyers then filed another case citing the IGP for contempt.

The court presided over by Justice Daniel Mensah was said that once the flat was in the custody of the court, it was illegal for anyone to sell or buy the property and that the police should have done due diligence.