A former Executive Secretary of the Inspector General Police (IGP), Superintendent Peter Lanchene Toobu, has revealed how robbers in Wa have used an abandoned police post as their safe haven.
According to him, residents in the region, including himself, are living in fear over rampant robbery attacks in the area.
Speaking on Adom FM’s morning show Dwaso Nsem on Tuesday, in the wake of recent robbery attacks in the region, Mr Toobu noted that the region is a robbery prone zone and that the establishment of a police post in the area will help police officers quickly respond to robbery attacks.
Speaking further in the interview, Mr Toobu noted that a police post, built for the purpose of enhancing security in the area, has not been put to use since 2018.
According to him, the abandoned police post has now become safe haven for criminals in the town.
“This country needs to get serious. You have used Ghanaians’ money to build a police post and have abandoned it and it is now serving as a haven for these robbers. The robbers keep their guns and find refuge there. People are being robbed in the area and the police post is still there abandoned. We cannot have development without security. This is very bad,” he stated.
Asked what he would have done if he were the head of DISEC for the area, Mr Toobu, who is also the opposition National Democratic Congress parliamentary candidate for the Wa West Constituency in the Upper West Region, said he would have called an immediate DISEC meeting and found out from the District Commander what plans he has to beef up security in the area.
But in a quick rebuttal, Public Relations Officer for the Upper West Regional Police Command, Chief Inspector Gideon Ohene Boateng, could not fathom why a former senior officer would make such allegations without informing the police.
“If Mr Toobu claims an abandoned building is now serving as haven for criminals, what has he done about it. He has not reported anything to us and so how then do we have to believe him. We always tell the public that the police is your friend, and we are every ready to assist anyone who thinks their lives are in danger,” he noted.
