Private legal practitioner and law Lecturer Dr Rainer Akumperigya has condemned the practice whereby security agencies intentionally arrest wrong people so that they can use them as a trap to get real culprits, describing it as lazy and wrong in criminal jurisprudence as well as an abuse of the rights and freedoms of the individuals.
There has been a groundswell of suspicion that some 31 persons arrested as a result of last Friday’s alleged secessionists attacks in the Volta Region are likely the wrong persons.
Lawyer for the suspects has argued that the arrested persons were random individuals who had gone to scenes of the attacks merely to see what had happened, only for them to be arrested by the security agencies.
Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu in the Volta Region Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has also cast doubts on the arrest of the suspects, arguing that it is not likely that the 31 persons had anything to do with the secessionist attacks.
Commenting on the matter, Lawyer Akumperigya conceded that while it will be prejudicial to say that the 31 arrested suspects are the wrong culprits, it is common practice for law enforcement agents to knowingly arrest wrong persons so that they can use them as a bait to arrest the real suspects.
“Ultimately, these are factual matters to be proven in court beyond doubt, but nonetheless raises in the meantime, a familiar subject in an abused prosecutorial practice where the police would knowingly arrest and put into custody wrong persons as vulnerable baits (usually close relatives or friends) in order to lure the real culprits to show up to be arrested,” he stated.
He argues, saying that the “practice is lazy, wrong in criminal jurisprudence and a painful affront to Constitutional guarantee of personal liberties and freedom of movement. No one should be held responsible or suffer, on behalf of another person, no matter how limited a time, unless the person is an abettor or a co-conspirator of the alleged crime.”
Dr Akumperigya noted that it will be unfortunate if the security agencies are resorting to this tactic to be able to arrest the real suspects since it will amount to “military weakness”.
“One hopes this is not what is playing out in these arrests otherwise it shows military weakness–in our inability to defend ourselves and to mount a robust and intelligent response to promptly arrest and crush the real perpetrators,” he asserted.
