The Ghana Police Service has rejected assertions by the Ghana Bar Association that the country’s rate of violent crimes is at an alarming level.
It says, “there is no upsurge in crime. The Service is on top of the security situation.”
The leadership of GBA had said there was an increasing spate of armed robbery and other violent crimes in the country following the killing of one of its members, Richard Badombie, by armed men in the Savannah Region last Saturday.
The lawyer was shot dead when the occupants of a Hyundai Accent saloon car with registration number GN 9890-17 were attacked between Banda Nkwanta and Nuoyiri.
But the police service, in response, said it remained “committed to its crime-fighting efforts”.
“We fight crime every day and treat crime with the same urgency and same professional attitude, and we regret the loss of every life”, the police added in a statement.
It, therefore, wants the public and other special-interest groups to be circumspect in the commentary on the matter and assist the police in unravelling the circumstances of the unfortunate incident.
“We wish to assure that we remain focused and committed to fighting crime in the country”.
So far, three suspects have been arrested by the Savannah Regional Police Command in connection with the crime.
Efforts are underway to arrest two other suspects.
Police reports indicate that on reaching a section of the road between Banda Nkwanta and Nuoyiri, three men signalled the victim, who was driving with two other occupants, to stop the vehicle.
While slowing down, the suspects shot and killed the victim, who was travelling to Jirapa.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) stands ready and prepared to give a “reward of GH¢20,000 to anyone who volunteers credible and legitimate information that will lead to the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of the crime.”
In a statement, the Association urged the general public to volunteer information to the security agencies to enable them to thoroughly investigate the matter with a view to identifying the perpetrators of the crime and making them suffer the consequences of their actions.
