GHANA: Archbishop Naameh Decries Unprofessionalism in Handling Kidnapped Girls Case

TAKORADI, SEPTEMBER 20, 2019 (CISA)– Archbishop Philip Naameh, President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, (GCBC) has expressed disappointment in the manner in which Ghana Police Service handled the case of four girls kidnapped in Takoradi in 2018.

“They kept telling us they were alive just to come out and tell us they are dead. I think that it is not fair and for me, it’s a very big disappointment,” he said noting that it is very painful for the country, and particularly for the families.

Archbishop Naameh noted that calls by the public for Director-General, Criminal Investigations Department Maame Tiwaa Addo-Danquah to resign is a clear expression of how unprofessionally the police handled the case.

“The calling for the resignation or removal of these people is to say that how far can we really trust our security services. I think sacking them alone is not the solution, we need really to go into it,” Radio Angelus reported him to have said.

According to local media, officers of the Ghana Police Service informed the four families in Takoradi  that the DNA tests conducted on samples discovered in the course of police investigations into the case have turned positive as the remains of the girls.

The four girls Ruth Abakah, Priscilla Blessing Bentum, Ruth Love Quayson and Priscilla Koranchie were kidnapped in 2018 and their deaths reported by police in September 2019.

“The investigations now establish that the girls were victims of kidnapping and murdering syndicate that operated in the Takoradi area. While for various reasons we were unsuccessful in obtaining and acting on accurate actionable intelligence in good time to enable us to rescue the girls, we believe that the arrest of the culprits has effectively thwarted the ability of this syndicate to have continued with further kidnappings and murders,” said Acting Inspector General of Police, James Oppong Boanuh at a press conference earlier this week.