Kwabenya attack: More details emerge

At a glance

• 6 police officers were on duty at the time of the attack

• Deceased Insp. Emmanuel Ashilevi was shot by a gunman stationed outside when he tried to move in

• Modernisation of police stations including fixing of CCTV cameras to be done soon

More details continue to emerge following the Sunday dawn attack on officers at the Kwabenya Atomic Hills Police Station.
The Accra Region Police Commander, DCOP George Mensah, has disclosed in an interview with Kofi Adoma Nwanwani on Adom FM’s Morning Show, “Dwaso Nsem” that there were six officers on duty when the attack happened.
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His comments run contrary to earlier reports that suggested there was only one Counter NCO at the charge office when the attack happened.
On why the officers could not combat the gunmen, the commander said the officers were taken unawares, adding that “even though they were armed, they were not ready to engage in a battle”.
Explaining the circumstances under which Inspector Emmanuel Ashilevi was shot, he said the killed officer was observing from outside the charge office and only moved in when he heard noise in the charge office; unknown to him however, the attackers had stationed men outside to ward off any intruder that may interfere with their operation and it was on entering that one of those men gunned him down.
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He described the situation as something that happened “in a flash”, saying there was no way the men could have engaged the attackers.
On assertions that the criminals shouldn’t have been kept in the same cells considering the nature of their crimes, DCOP George Mensah said those making the arguments do not understand the full scale of the number of robbers occupying cells in Accra.
“In the first place, they are not members of the same gang; more so, for every police station you visit in Accra, you are likely to find an arm robber there, saying there was no error with what happened”, he added.
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The Commander has also hinted of the intention of the Inspector General of Police to modernize the police service of which the fixing of CCTV cameras at all police stations is a part of the package but has appealed to the public to help with funds since the project is capital intensive.