A rare opportunity has reared its head for the Ghana Police Service Administration to deal with an allegation of extortion levelled against it, one of many over the years.
While some of these allegations are unsubstantiated and do not come close to the threshold of veracity otherwise have basis for prosecution.
Last week, courtesy of social media, the country watched an image-denting video investigation into which is yet to be concluded by the Police Professional Standards Bureau as directed by the law enforcement administration.
Be it as it may, Ghanaians watched in awe a group of persons, who looked like illegal miners, engaged in what looked like a scuffle with some police officers. As the video progressed, a policeman was seen kneeling down and pleading with his seeming captor to as it turned out release the ignition key of the service vehicle parked in the bush, a palpable galamsey spot.
The police/driver did not remove the ignition key from the service vehicle and one of the hoodlums removed it, and the cop appeared to be begging him to release it to him.
The story cannot be one to be happy about because even while the suspects were wanted for attacking the cops and some of them eventually arrested, the demeaning picture of one of the officers pleading while kneeling down was such a horrible sight that it trended for a long time on social media, denuding the police of respect it is struggling to restore on its institutional visage.
For many who watched, their frustration lies in the fact that some bad nuts have managed to join the police and are not helping the image of the noble institution of the Police Service they have enlisted in.
We are compelled to think that some cops have simply enlisted because of the non-availability of employment opportunities, otherwise such persons would not have joined the Service in the first place. Those who join the police with ulterior motives will soon be exposed after engaging in activities which are at variance with the standards of the security agency.
With Kofi Ato Asare, said to be a prime suspect in the case under review, denying the police statement and claiming that he has been acting as an intermediary between galamsey operators and the police, as contained in one of stories in this issue, there is need for a serious investigation.
Ghanaians want to know the basis upon which the said Kofi Ato Asare is saying that he is holding onto an amount of GH¢100,000 being money he is supposed to give the Axim District Police Command but because he is given only a small commission whenever he collects such monies from galamsey men he is refusing to part with what he is holding now.
Kofi Ato Asare must be smoked out and made to substantiate the allegation because these charges against the law enforcement institution does not inure to the image of the personnel, some of whom are selfless and performing their duties to the best of their abilities. Whoever is found culpable in this episode of allegations should be made to face the law.