Suspected Kidnapper, Samuel Odoetuk Wills
Parents of some of the kidnapped girls in Sekondi-Takoradi in the Western Region have accused the police of not doing enough to help find their daughters despite several assurances.
The parents could not fathom why the police keep stating that the suspected Nigerian kidnapper Samuel Odoetuk Wills was refusing to tell them the whereabouts of the victims.
“In fact we are not happy with the conduct of the police so far. If it had been the daughters of some ‘big’ men in the country, the police would have marshalled all resources to locate them,” one of the parents lamented on radio yesterday.
The parents are now calling on government, through the Ministry of Children and Social Protection, in particular, to rescue the girls.
During a press conference on Wednesday, the Western Regional Police Command said “at the initial stages, the suspect took us to Kasoa and we combed the whole are yet he could not lead us to where the victims are. He is not even ready to talk. He will tell you he doesn’t know where the victims are.”
Awuradjoa Quayson, a sister to one of the missing girls, Ruth Love Quayson, pointed out that her sister’s disappearance was adversely affecting her family, saying “Even when your child is sick, imagine the trauma you go through as a parent. How much more kidnapping?”
Francis Bentum, father of one of the kidnapped girls appeared to have given up on the police.
He said, “I leave everything to God. As a Christian I strongly believe that as long as God lives, I know my daughter and the rest are alive.”
Parents Demonstrate
Relatives of the kidnapped girls recently hit the streets of Sekondi-Takoradi to force authorities to fast-track investigations to bring back the girls.
The aggrieved parents were joined in the demonstration by residents of the metropolis who indicated that the recent rise in kidnapping of girls in the area was worrying.
FIDA Wades Into Case
Meanwhile, FIDA-Ghana, an association of women lawyers, has described the abduction of the girls as unacceptable.
A statement issued by the association and signed by its PRO, Sandra Ankobiah, said that the threat by the abductors to harm the girls if their families do not pay the ransom reflects the shocking absence of humanity and compassion.
“FIDA-Ghana wholeheartedly supports the decision by government to deploy aid, personnel, resources, law enforcement and experts to partner local authorities to find the girls and return them safely to their parents,” the statement added.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi