Kidnappings: We need time; stop giving us timelines – IGP

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr David Asante-Apeatu, has appealed to the families affected by kidnappings in the Western Region, to allow the police to do its job without constantly mounting pressure on them or forcing them to deliver results within specific timelines.

Mr Asante-Apeatu’s comment comes in the wake of mounting anger among the families of the three kidnapped girls in Takoradi.

The families, who have threatened a second demonstration, have accused the police of sleeping on the job as far as finding the girls is concerned.

A Nigerian, Samuel Udoetuk-Wills has been arrested in connection with the case and is assisting the police with the investigation.

Speaking at a press conference in Accra on Thursday, 14 February 2019, Mr Asante-Apeatu appealed to the aggrieved families to give the police ample time to find the girls.

He said: “They shouldn’t give us some timelines but rather they should cooperate with us, the police need time to do these investigations”.

He added that: “It is not as if in Ghana we are unable to unravel kidnapping cases. I returned from South Africa recently and it is the case everywhere. We don’t know? Sometimes I keep wondering whether we are comparing ourselves with a certain country but if we try to do that, we may be a bit comfortable with our situation. I’m not saying we are complacent but we do our best under the circumstances to manage crime in this country”.

Mr Asante-Apeatu further cautioned against misrepresenting every missing person's case as a kidnapping. He stressed that sometimes the victims may have gone to stay with their lovers or travelled without the knowledge of their families and friends. Hence, the public should not be quick to conclude that every case of a missing person is kidnapping.

He added that Ghana is “not doing bad” in terms of general crime management and explained that in some countries, there are as high as 83,000 homicide cases but “we record sometimes 500 and 400”.