The Ghana Police Service has denied Mr Oliver Barker-Vormawor’s allegation that his food donation to persons in custody at the Ashaiman police station was rejected due to “orders from above”.
Mr Barker-Vormawor, while addressing the press on Sunday, made a series of allegations, including categorizing as false, a police statement that suggested the police were unaware of his visit.
“A lot of them don’t have families to visit them, so we have come together to make a donation of some food items and toiletries which from my experience, a lot of inmates lack. All we know is that visiting hours are between 4 and 6 pm, so we are waiting till 4 to 6 pm so that if we present it and they refuse it, then we go home”.
He said the donation was on the basis of the poor-feeding treatment he received during his 35-day stay behind bars.
Reacting to this, the Tema Regional police said they only got to know of his benevolent visit from content on media platforms and informed his lawyers that the donation was against Police Standard Operating Procedures (SoP).
In spite of the warning, Mr Barker-Vormawor showed up in the company of others with a band which the police have interpreted to mean he was there to “create unnecessary drama”.
This, the police statement said is the reason they denied him the opportunity, and not due to any “orders from above”.
Mr Barker-Vormawor also said in his press address that he, notwithstanding, made the donation but was called later to retrieve them.
The police have also flagged that report as false.
According to the police, despite allowing for food to be brought to the suspects from time to time by families, the arrangement requires “stringent safety and security protocols” before being accepted and given for consumption.
It is against this background that the police say they do not accept food from sources outside the families and nominated persons of suspects, and Mr Oliver Barker-Vormawor is no exception to that rule.
The police command said they cannot fathom what the fuss and Mr Barker-Vomawor’s motive is, since the “feeding of suspects in custody is hardly an enterprise he can sustain even for more than a day”.
Read the police response below:
