IGP interdicts policeman over assault on schoolboy

A police chief in Ghana has been interdicted by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) for allegedly ordering his officers to assault a 14-year-old schoolboy.

The Ghana Police Service in a press release stated that IGP David Asante-Appeatu had ordered the interdiction of District Superintendent of Police Dickson Obeng.

Obeng until his interdiction was the District Police Commander for Sefwi Akontombra located in the country’s Western Region.

“In addition to this (interdiction), the IGP has directed the Police Commander for Western Region to constitute a team to investigate the incident and report within two (2) weeks,” the statement added.

Local TV channel TV3 reported that the boy received 19 lashes on his back and in his palms for refusing to be separated whiles engaging in a fight with a colleague after school.

The boy’s father said the interdicted police chief had confirmed ordering the punishment which left the boy with marks on his back. The boy was made to kneel before a table and his hands placed on them whiles being lashed. He has since been treated and discharged from hospital.

The past few weeks have been hard on the country’s police with a number of high-profile cases. A junior officer was filmed assaulting a woman in a bank, he is currently before the court facing criminal charges.

Another police guarding a bullion van mistakenly discharged his arm killing the van driver. A community in the Ashanti region also faced off with police after seven residents were killed by police. The authorities have opened a probe into the particular case.