Lawyers for the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare are resisting any attempt by parliament’s ad hoc committee probing the alleged plot to remove the IGP to invite external witnesses.
This follows the counsel of Supt. George Asare writing to the committee to invite two potential witnesses including a senior police officer to testify against the IGP and provide further information to aid the committee’s work.
As the committee continues its in-camera hearing of the case on Tuesday after its break to review and analyse the evidence presented, all witnesses are before it to tender their evidence including witnesses to testify.
But lawyers for the IGP are of the view that testimonies of other witnesses are of no relevance to the investigations.
They insist that the committee has completed its work per its terms of reference, adding that the presence of the other witnesses is inconsequential and against the procedure.
“I will protect my client’s interest to the best of my ability. This is my oath as a Lawyer and we will resist any attempt by the chairman of the committee to bring any extraneous person to come and testify,” said IGP’s counsel.
IGP’s counsel also raised other issues of bias with the committee’s chairman that he keeps making prejudicial comments.
Speaking in an interview with JoyNews on Monday, October 9, the outspoken lawyer insisted that Mr Atta Akyea has his own agenda that he is pursuing in the matter.
“He has his own agenda. He will be granting media interviews to the extent that after one sitting, he went out there and said the extended tape submitted by Bugri Naabu, which had not been played at the committee, has been doctored. Very prejudicial comments,” he said.
However, counsel for Supt Asare has challenged IGP’s legal team to accept the invitation of external witnesses if they indeed have nothing to hide.
“To say that you are going to resist presupposes that maybe you have some skeleton hiding in your cupboard and you think these witnesses are going to expose you.”