Bright Appiah, Executive Director CRI
Child Rights International (CRI), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), has called for a multi-stakeholder approach to locate the three girls who were kidnapped in Takoradi in the Western Region.
The NGO, which is committed to the promotion and protection of the rights of children, said the time has come for government to consider the situation as national crisis in order to find the girls and assuage the pain of the families.
“The organization is appealing to the state to involve other security institutions in other neighbouring countries since the missing girls could be anywhere and not necessary in Ghana,” said Bright Appiah, Executive Director of CRI, stated.
The media first broke the news about the kidnapped girls in the Takoradi metropolis last year, triggering a search for them by the police.
Samuel Udoetuk Wills, a Nigerian, was arrested for allegedly kidnapping the three girls, but the police, who earlier mentioned that they had knowledge about the location of the girls, are yet to update the families and the public on the case.
Addressing the media after a visit to the families of the kidnapped girls, Mr. Appiah said, “The families want their children to be brought to them. All other things do not matter to them.”
He said the families are struggling to deal with the situation, adding, “During our visit, we gathered that the mothers of the girls are developing various hearing related conditions. This is very bad for their health, and by now the state should have put measures in place to support them at least.”
“We expect that the government would at least provide a clinic psychologist for the affected families, especially the mothers,” Mr. Appiah.
CRI also raised concern about the poor communication between the police and the families.
According to the organization, the families are not happy with the manner in which they receive information from the police since about 90 per cent of the information comes from the media and not the liaison officer assigned to them by the police.
“The Police Service must also have discussions with families of the missing girls on a regular basis so that they would not feel as if they are being kept in the dark regarding the progress of the investigations,” he added.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri