COP Christian Tetteh Yohuno
A High Court in Accra has dismissed a case challenging the appointment of Commissioner of Police (COP) Christian Tetteh Yohuno as the Deputy Inspector-General of Police In Charge of Operations.
According the court, its jurisdiction was not properly invoked when the applicant filed the case pursuant to Article 141 of the 1992 Constitution and Section 16 of Act 459 (Courts Act).
The court presided over by Justice Richard Apietu held that “it is clear and obvious that the functions the President and the Police Council performed were administrative functions and therefore the proper provisions which the Applicant should have come under to properly invoke the jurisdiction of the Court in this matter was Article 23.”
Appointment
President Akufo-Addo appointed COP Tetteh Yohuno as the new Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations on July 17, 2024.
A statement signed by the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin, indicated that the appointment was made pursuant to the advice of the Police Council at its meeting held on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, which acknowledged COP Yohuno’s exceptional credentials and dedication to duty.
Suit
Emmanuel Felix Mantey later filed a suit before the court seeking an order of prohibition to restrain COP Yohuno from acting or purporting to act in the role of Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations.
He was also seeking an order to restrain the Attorney General and the Police Council from taking any actions in furtherance of the appointment of COP. Yohuno as Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations.
The applicant had also sought an order of qua warranto directed at COP Yohuno regarding his appointment by President Akufo-Addo as contained in the statement dated July 17 2024, to the position of Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of
Operations.
Preliminary Objections
But respondents raised preliminary objections and contended that the action was instituted in the wrong forum and in contravention of Article 2(1) and 130(1) of the 1992 Constitution.
They also contended that the jurisdiction of the High Court was wrongly invoked by the Applicant and therefore urged the court to dismiss the case.
Justice Richard Apietu in his ruling on the preliminary objection held that the Respondents and the President are not lower courts or lower adjudicating authorities, therefore, they cannot be amenable to the supervisory jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 141 of the 1992 Constitution and Section 16 of the Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459).
Again, court said the President was performing his administrative functions and not exercising adjudicatory powers when he appointed COP Yohuno as the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, therefore, Article 141 of the 1992 Constitution and Section 16 of Act 459 are not the appropriate statutory provisions to be invoked against him.
The court further pointed out that the Police Council was performing its administrative functions and not exercising adjudicatory powers when it advised the President of Ghana to appoint COP Yohuno as Deputy Inspector-General of Police, therefore, Article 141 of the 1992 Constitution and Section 16 of Act 459 are not the appropriate statutory provisions to be invoked against them.
“The issue of jurisdiction in any matter before the court is so fundamentally important that it cannot be overemphasized,” Justice Apietu noted.
He further stated that it was important to state that Order 55 of C.I 147 which is one of the provisions the applicant relied on to invoke the jurisdiction of the court is a procedural rule by which an application for judicial review may be brought and that the High Court does not derive its jurisdiction from the Rules of Court.
“I am of the considered opinion that the Applicant has failed to properly invoke the supervisory jurisdiction of the High Court and therefore, this Application ought to be dismissed and it is accordingly dismissed,” Justice Apietu added.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak