#FixTheCountry Movement and two other NGOs have filed a Right To Information, RTI, request directed at the Ghana Police Service.
The two other groups are Democracy Hub and Democratic Accountability Lab.
Their request is hinged on demands for official information with respect to the feeding and overall treatment of persons held in Police custody.
A press release posted on the Facebook timeline of Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a recently released convenor of the group, itemized nine questions to the Police Service.
They included among others, budget for feeding persons in Police custody for 2000 and 2001, and general issues around feeding and health care needs and records of inmates.
The group are also seeking answers to Standard Operating Procedures, SoPs, of the Service as relates to donations by private citizens and organizations to inmates in Police custody.
Below are the nine main questions they are seeking answers to plus five auxiliary questions making them 14 in all.
1a. What was the budget for feeding persons in Police custody for 2020, 2021.
1b. How many people were held for more than 24 hours in Police custody in Ghana for the year 2020, and 2021 respectively.
2. How much was approved for feeding persons in police custody for 2022.
3. How many persons were held by the Police for more than 24hours at the Ashaiman Police Station between February 11-March 17 2022.
4. In connection with number 3, How much did the Ghana Police Service spend on feeding the individuals in the custody of the Ashaiman Police Station between February 11-March 17 2022.
5. What was the daily menu provided the individuals in the custody of the Ashaiman Police Station between February 11-March 17 2022.
5a. How many times are persons in police custody fed daily?
6. What was the budget for first aid medication procured for 2020; 2021 and 2022; for persons in police custody.
6a. How many people in Police custody fell sick and required hospitalization between January 2020 and 21st March 2022.
6b. How many people in Police custody fell sick and required a hospital visit, without hospitalization between January 2020 and 21st March 2022.
6c. How many people fell sick; and were given medication without requiring a hospital visit between January 2020 and 21st March 2022.
7. How many persons have died while in Police custody between January 2020 and 21st March 2022.
8. Furnish us with a copy of the Standard Operation Procedures of the Ghana Police Service regarding donations by private citizens and private organizations to persons in police custody.
8a. Furnish us with a copy of the Standard Operation Procedures of the Ghana Police Service regarding donations by private citizens to the Ghana Police Service as an institution.
9. Furnish us with a copy of the Ghana Police Service Instructions.
The Police have 14 days to respond.
Barker-Vormawor's donation rejected
Convener of the #FixTheCountry group, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, currently facing treason felony charges for threatening a coup via Facebook, recently tried unsuccessfully to donate to his former cell mates at the Ashaiman Police Station.
He insists that inmates were not fed by the state and depended on benevolence of the public and relatives but Police had been politically pressured to refuse his donation.
Police said he had been warned against proceeding with the donation which they said was meant to cause ‘unnecessary drama.’
The letter of request addressed to the IGP also stated thus: "We would like the requested information in electronic format. The requested information can be sent to our email address at [email protected].
"However, in the event that you are unable to provide the information in electronic format, we are amenable to picking up the physical copy of the requested information; in or any other format the Institution deems appropriate.
"Pursuant to the provisions of Act 989, we would be grateful to receive the requested information within 14 days of the receipt of this letter."
#FixTheCountry protesters at a demo in Accra last year