Gen Mosquito: Delta Force court invasion appears orchestrated

The invasion and forceful release from court custody of 13 members of the Delta Force vigilantes by their own members had all the trappings of a carefully orchestrated plot, says Johnson Asiedu Nketiah.

The General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress says given that the police appeared overwhelmed by the court invasion in Kumasi on Thursday, when ordinarily they would have been fully prepared for it, tells clearly that some compromise had been kicked in to aid the escape of the suspects.

Thirteen members of the Delta Force vigilante group affiliated to the ruling New Patriotic Party standing trial at a Kumasi Circuit Court for forcibly throwing out the Ashanti Regional Security Coordinator because they do not back his appointment, were aided to escape court custody on Thursday in a melee caused by their colleagues who stormed the courtroom. 

The court had declined them bail and remanded them in custody to reappear on April 20, 2017, however the suspects absconded before police reinforcement arrived to arrest eight of the ‘invaders’.

Speaking on Radio Gold on Friday, Asiedu Nketiah, aka General Mosquito, said even in instances when individuals had been put before the courts for suspected infractions of the law, the full force of the police is deployed to prevent the untoward, and to think that the police would be this ill-prepared for a clearly fluid situation as in 13 recruited and trained party vigilantes whose other colleagues could be expected to react to the situation, could not have been an oversight.

But Asiedu Nketiah said he is not surprised at the unfolding lawlessness and the apparent incapacity of the police to handle the situation. The buck stops with President Akufo-Addo, the Commander in Chief of Ghana’s security, who wields the political will required to effect the professionalism of the Inspector General of Police and his servicemen and women. 

According to him, the president has so far showed he would not act against his party men who offend the law, preferring to hide behind charade disapprovals for their lawlessness in public speeches.

In his words, far from the Police boss being incompetent to manage the country’s internal security, it is the lack of political will to back his professional judgment and responsibilities that are staying his hands from the required actions.