- Exposed Story of a Shocking Frame Up And Court Charges

A 72-year-old woman and her daughter, a pharmacist, who forced a well-built estranged friend to the Accra Central Police Station on Monday July 11, have ended up with one of the most bizarre experiences that exposes the seedier side of the Ghana Police Service that is known by a lot of people but hardly comes to the fore.

The old woman, her daughter and 35 year old son, George Quaye, and three others were charged with kidnapping, a first degree felony that carries sentences of up to 20 years imprisonment, among other charges.

The three others were not even aware that they were being added to the list of 'kidnappers.' They had turned up at the police station to check up on the matter involving the women and the man, 56 year old Nanabanyin Abraham.

The fact that the frail old lady was sporting a swollen lip, following an assault that knocked her tooth out, did not matter to Police Sergeant Osmanu who pressed charges and roped in the other three men.

They were all charged with kidnapping.

Last August, The Ghanaian Chronicle filed a court story from an Accra community tribunal that had begun hearing on the kidnapping charges.

The story flowing from this incident has now been exposed as a frame-up, perpetrated by Sergeant Osmanu and the complainant, Nanabanyin Abraham, a professed architect trained in Rome and the University of Pisa.

Cyber-investigations conducted by KCi, an Accra based company specializing in covert business and commercial investigations and due diligence, have turned up conclusive evidence that he is not what he claims he is on sworn court affidavits.

It was only when the case was adjourned after two sittings late last month that the accused persons complained to the police hierarchy, the Judicial Police (JUPO) unit, which then established that the case was never investigated and found out that there was no legal basis for such charges to be slapped on the accused persons.

The suspicion is that the accused persons would have been expected to pay huge sums in bribery commensurate with the enormity of the charges so that the case could have been dropped as is wont to happen.

It was a well-planned dirty trick that could have landed six innocent victims in prison and permanently ruined them.

Sgt Osmanu of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Greater Accra Police himself admitted last Tuesday that indeed he prosecuted the six accused persons before an Accra community tribunal when investigations into allegations of kidnapping brought against them by Nanabanyin Abraham had not been done.

There is also strong suspicion that Sgt Osmanu may have been influenced by the complainant to frame up the accused, as he (Sgt Osmanu) could not substantiate the charges during preliminary questioning occasioned by the protests of Ms. Stella Quaye, the lady at the center of the tragi-comedy.

When this reporter reminded Sgt Osmanu that such act could mean injustice to the accused, he brushed the suggestion aside, and rather stressed that he had now finished with his investigations and that the case would be laid before court tomorrow, November 8.

Pushed further as to why he first forwarded the docket to court without completing investigations, Sgt Osmanu could not give any reason.

Chronicle investigations established that the complainant, Nanabanyin Abraham told the Police Sergeant that he was kidnapped.

However, Chronicle learnt that as many as five people later produced written statements as supporting witnesses to the charge, a matter that may drag in those witnesses for investigations and possible charges of perjury and bearing false testimonies.

It was gathered that Mr. Abraham had lodged complaints about his estranged friend at various police stations, including Elmina's, but failed to turn up when Ms. Quaye responded to the police invitations, usually over property issues or cash matters.

It was during one of such cases that Ms. Quaye and her family decided to trace Abraham and demand that he accompany them to the Central Police Station where he had made yet another report over a property he claimed she had stolen.

The Head of JUPO at the Regional Police Headquarters, Mrs. Mills Robertson, confirmed last Tuesday that indeed Sgt Osmanu did not complete investigations before sending the case to court.

She, however, said she could not fault the Police Sergeant, because, according to her, Osmanu may have been taking instructions from his superior.

Mrs. Robertson, who is a trained lawyer, said when her attention was drawn to the issue, she called for the docket and after studying it, realized there were more investigations that needed to be done, and therefore, instructed Sgt Osmanu to further investigate the case.

When contacted last week, Officer Abayete, the 2nd in Command of the Accra Regional Headquarters, whose office was prompted to intervene in the case upon protest by the accused persons, stressed that no one was kidnapped, even though he admitted that Sgt Osmanu prepared kidnap charges against the accused.

"Who kidnapped him? Don't mind that man. Nobody kidnapped him. It's not true, my brother. Don't follow that man," he said, referring to the kidnap charge as wrong and questionable.

He wondered if Abraham would have been brought to the Regional Police Headquarters if indeed the accused had any intention of kidnapping him.

A police source hinted the Chronicle that Agbayate personally called Sgt Osmanu to his office and advised him to be careful with the way he was handling the case, as there were speculations that he was taking sides.

It was gathered that Osmanu refused to talk to the 'accused' persons but only listened to Abraham when they first went to the police station.

"Osmanu refused to talk to us. Not even my 72-year-old mother, who was also accused of kidnapping, was allowed to talk, even though Abraham hurt her during the confrontation and 'extracted' her tooth," Ms Quaye said, adding that it was after intervention by some other police officers that Sgt Osmanu agreed to listen to them and took their statements.

Despite their statements which contained charges that they had been assaulted -Stella also suffered a strain- no charges were brought against Abraham.

She added that the main case, which was a charge of fraud against Abraham, was thrown away by Sgt Osmanu, but, surprisingly, the Police Sergeant dwelt on the charge of kidnapping brought against them.

It was two persons who took Abraham to the police station, with him sitting in the front seat of the taxi, but six people were charged with kidnapping.

Superintendent Angwubutoge Awuni, Head of Police Public Relations Department, when contacted yesterday declined to comment on the issue on the basis that he was not aware of any such case.

Pressed further as to whether such an act by a police officer was ethical, he said since the Head of JUPO at the regional headquarters who instructed Sergeant Osmanu to further investigate the case commented, her statement should be taken as the official statement.