Withdrawing police escorts from bullion vans long-overdue – IGP told

The Executive Director of the Bureau of Public Safety, Nana Yaw Akwada has said that the IGP’s decision to withdraw his men from escorting bullion vans is long overdue.

His statement comes after the IGP threatened to withdraw police escorts if fortified armoured vans are not provided for carting money.

Nana Yaw Akwada reacting to this development told Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show: “Ghana Police should have withdrawn their officers long ago. As I speak to you now, there is a district manager somewhere in the North who has withdrawn his men from accompanying bank cash because he doesn’t want to take the risk.

They have reported him up to the level of MCE but this man has withdrawn his men”.

Nana Yaw argued that withdrawing police escort from these vans have become particularly important as some security concerns have been raised recently.

“Between 2019 and 2020 the use of firearms in the commissioning of violent crimes has increased to 51 percent. The evidence is that a user of a firearm is able to escape after committing a crime and as the Ghana Police Service, I doubt they will want to put their men at such risk considering the general constraints within the Service when it comes to investigations. You don’t want to put your men at risk”, he added.

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr James Oppong-Boanuh, has given financial institutions a June 30 ultimatum to acquire armoured vans.

Failure to provide fortified vehicles for carting currencies would result in the police withdrawing personnel from guarding bullion vans.

The IGP issued the notice on the back of an armed robbery attack, which resulted in the cold-blooded murder of a cop.

The officer, Constable Emmanuel Osei was shot in the head on Monday, June 14, after eight robbers attacked a MON TRAN bullion van at Adedenkpo, a suburb of James Town in Accra.

A woman of about 30 years, who is yet to be identified was also shot and killed while she was in her shop.

The driver of the bullion van also sustained gunshot wounds and is currently receiving treatment at the Police Hospital.