General News of Friday, 1 November 2019

Source: kasapafmonline.com

Senior state attorney, DOVVSU officials implicated in EIB’s ‘Justice for Cash’ exposé

Emmanuel Lawson Otoo Boison Emmanuel Lawson Otoo Boison

A Senior State Attorney in the Upper East Region Emmanuel Lawson Otoo Boison has been implicated in EIB’s ‘Justice for Cash’ investigative documentary.

The piece conducted by EIB’s Upper East Correspondent Edward Adeti highlights some of the shady dealings at the Attorney General’s Department where State Attorneys allegedly offer questionable advice that sees suspects go scot-free.

The 33-minute documentary shows some officials of DOVVSU requesting monies from victims before processing their cases.

The undercover probe, conducted within four months in the Upper East Region, is a case study on allegations Ghanaians have levelled openly against some state’s attorneys. The shortage of justice is one silent killer that has plagued the vulnerable class for an unmeasured amount of time.

Because a public outcry over some injustices has gone unheard for too long a period, a dangerous trend has emerged in the region. Lynching. The people resorted to getting justice their own way. A police commander, Chief/Supt. Samuel Punobyin, wept over the freedom criminals were enjoying in the region and the bondage of terror the helpless residents and travellers were enduring.

When he could not bear it anymore, the commander took the Attorney-General’s Department on in 2018. He was a lone warrior as his superiors in the region, for reasons the public is free to guess, watched in silence. The Attorney-General’s Department fought back in July, 2019, with a strong demand for a retraction and an apology for calling its integrity into question. The state prosecutors further threatened to haul him before court if the demand was not met in two weeks.

At a point, lynching of suspected criminals, guilty or guiltless, by the frustrated civilians became so rampant hardly would a month slip away without one or two incidents of mob justice being reported or recorded somewhere in the region. Democracy came under a threat. This threat inspired an investigative raid on the Attorney-General’s Department.