Inspector General of Police (IGP), James Oppong-Boanuh

Public Security Bureau executive director Nana Yaw Akwada said the IGP’s decision to remove its men from the ingot vans escort was long overdue.

His statement comes after the IGP threatened to withdraw police escorts if fortified armored vans are not provided to transport cash.

Nana Yaw Akwada, reacting to this development, told Samuel Eshun on Happy Morning: “The Ghanaian police should have withdrawn their agents a long time ago. As I speak to you, there is a district chief somewhere in the north who has withdrawn his men from accompanying cash because he does not want to take the risk.

They denounced him at the level of the MCE but this man withdrew his men ”.

Nana Yaw argued that the removal of the police escort from these vans has become particularly important as some security concerns have been raised recently.

“Between 2019 and 2020, the use of firearms in the commission of violent crimes increased to 51%. The proof is that a gun user is able to escape after committing a crime and as the Ghana Police Service I doubt they want to put their men at such risk given the general constraints within the service when it comes to surveys. You don’t want to endanger your men, ”he added.

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. James Oppong-Boanuh, issued an ultimatum to financial institutions on June 30 to acquire armored vans.

Failure to provide fortified vehicles to transport currency would result in the removal of police personnel from guarding the ingot vans.

The IGP issued the notice following an armed robbery, which resulted in the cold-blooded murder of a cop.

The officer, Constable Emmanuel Osei, was shot in the head on Monday, June 14, after eight thieves attacked a MON TRAN ingot van in Adedenkpo, a suburb of James Town in Accra.

A woman of around 30, who has not yet been identified, was also shot dead while in her store.

The driver of the ingot van was also shot and injured at the police hospital.