Signals picked up, coupled with information from highly placed sources within the Ghana Police Service, point to an incipient shake-up at the top of the security institution, which may soon see the replacement of the popular Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Kofi Boakye as Director General of Police Operations.

The almost-certain replacement of ACP Boakye with the Northern Regional Commander, Mr. E. K. Brakatu, is however not connected with the recent drug scandals that have hit the Service, investigations into which have implicated some top officials of the Service, including Mr. Boakye.

According to our sources, ACP Boakye's possible replacement is occasioned by the recent promotion of Mr. Brakatu to the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP); a rank that should necessarily see him brought back to Police Headquarters in Accra.

The certainty of Mr. Brakatu's reassignment to Headquarters as a result of his recent promotion was also established during a short interaction with the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Patrick Kwarteng Acheampong, not too long ago, though the deliberation was not about what Mr. Brakatu's designation at Headquarters will be.

Our background checks indicate that the new DCOP has operational expertise and has had the occasion to demonstrate his know-how at the Headquarters as Deputy Operations Commander, and at one time served as the Operations Commander in charge of the Northern Sector of the country.

For now, insiders say the incipient shake-up that may lead to Boakye's ousting can witness a relapse only if he is also promoted to the rank of DCOP. But our sources maintain that considering the recent drug scare, the Police Council (PC) would find it inappropriate to endorse recommendations for the promotion of any senior officer, especially those whose names have been mentioned in the on-going drug investigations, to the rank of DCOP.

As if to make matters clear, Mr. John Kwabla Agboada, who is Boakye's deputy, was also recently promoted from Chief Superintendent to ACP, the same rank as his superior.

Though there has been some grumbling about Mr. Agboada's promotion because many feel he was a junior among the group of personnel with the Chief Superintendent rank, the promotion memo, known in police circles as 'signal', made it clear that his promotion was based on a special recommendation.

The 'signal', with origin number SO/G.1/2/V.3/18, that communicated the promotion of Agboada and four others to the ACP rank to all police officers and men, indicated that the promotion of the group was based on a recommendation to the PC, which though not clearly stated in the 'signal', was possibly from the IGP.

The 'signal' also stated that the PC had approved the promotion based on what was described as "their exceptional performance in their roles in the Service."

The inspirational ACP Boakye, who is acknowledged by young cops in the Striking Force Unit of the Police Service as the one who gave the Unit the needed morale, is obviously a disturbed man now.

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His worry about recent developments in the Service was reflected in his statement, "It is a bad time to be a Policeman in Ghana," when he was reacting to accusations leveled against him by one Detective Sergeant Anobil of the La Police Station on Peace FM, a private radio station based in the nation's capital, Accra Kofi Boakye, said to have had about 18 years experience in the service, surprised listeners when he constantly referred to his days as the Greater Accra regional commander as "those days when I was having power."

His admirers and the listening public were obviously stunned by Boakye's comments because the general thinking was that with his elevation to Operations Director, he would have considered himself much more powerful than any regional commander could be. Mr. Boakye's comments have thus left many wondering whether he feels sabotaged by people at his current designation.

ACP Boakye, who is said to have plied his entire police carrier in Accra, holds a masters degree and started a law course at the Ghana Law School, which he had to abrogate due to what is perceived to be his tight work schedules.