Security officers are supposed to enforce the law and protect citizens. But what happens when the police officer citizens should feel safe around becomes the very thing they fear most?
In the 1980s and 90s, a police officer named Jack Bebli became a terror to residents of Accra, particularly those living around Achimota and Taifa. When his name was heard, both children and adults were gripped by fear. Grown men fell quiet, drivers slowed down, and even shoemakers stopped hammering.
A man who was meant to enforce the law had become something the law itself seemed afraid to touch, until, his sins caught up with him.
Bebli was legally known as Alhaji Sheikh Seidu Mohammed Bebli, and court records confirm he was also known as RSM Jack Bebli.
According to accounts shared by residents who lived through the era, he began his career as a dispatch rider with the Motor Traffic Unit of the Ghana Police Service before rising through the ranks to become Regimental Sergeant Major of the defunct Panther Unit, one of the most feared security formations of its time.
The unit was tasked with combating violent crime at a period when armed robbery was a major national concern.
Bebli reportedly commanded immense power and was widely feared across parts of Accra during the Rawlings era. He was said to be powerful enough to organise roadblocks with armed colleagues, and no driver or pedestrian dared challenge him.
During a National Reconciliation Commission hearing under the Kufuor administration, Rawlings identified Bebli as one of the officers appearing in footage of the 1984 interrogation and killing of two soldiers, Cpl. Halidu Giwa and L/Cpl. Sarkodie Addo.
The Gold Heist
In February 1999, Ghana was stunned to learn that Bebli, the feared police officer, was the mastermind behind a massive gold bullion van robbery. The gold was later traced to two vehicles belonging to GHACEM and Ashanti Goldfields Company before being transported to Accra.
Bebli and his accomplices were caught when one of them, Frimpong, was arrested trying to flee with his share of the loot at the Elubo border. Frimpong named the others during interrogation.
Court records confirm Bebli was tried alongside Philip Asamoah, alias Agingo, a soldier identified as James Doli, and others. The group was found guilty and sentenced according to law, with Bebli and five others receiving 15 years for armed robbery. The verdict was delivered on 13 July 2001, and several convicted parties later appealed to the Court of Appeal.
Repentance and Death
While serving his sentence at Nsawam Prison, Bebli reportedly appeared before the National Reconciliation Commission, where victims came forward with allegations of torture and abuse from his years in uniform. He is said to have denied many of the accusations, at times citing memory loss due to illness.
He is also reported to have converted to Christianity, taking the name Paul and asking forgiveness for wrongs committed during his career.
In May 2009, Bebli suffered a heart attack and died while still serving his sentence.
