Police decision to injunct protests without A-G’s authorization is incorrect – NDC

The National Democratic Congress’s legal affairs head, Godwin Edudzi Tameklo, deems the Ghana Police Service’s decision to injunct protests without the Attorney General’s authorization as incorrect.

He filed a preliminary motion in court, arguing against the Ghana Police Service’s ability to grant an injunction against a planned protest by a minority group in parliament.

The Minority Caucus is demanding the removal of Dr. Ernest Addison the governor and his deputies over the loss of Gh60 billion in the 2022 financial year.

The Police have filed an injunction due to security concerns over the proposed protest routes which was scheduled for today, Tuesday, September 5.

Lawyer Tamakloe filed the preliminary objection which the court has set September 8, 2023, to rule on it.

The lawyer noted that the signing of the motion paper and the conduct of the injunction case by Supt. Sylvester Asare “offends section 9(1a) of the state proceedings ACT.”

He referenced the State Proceedings Act, saying the Attorney General or an officer appointed by him is responsible for initiating all civil proceedings by the Republic.

“Lawyer Asare is not the Attorney General or an officer authorized by the Attorney General and therefore cannot purport to sign this originating process for and on behalf of the republic”, he said.

He also told the court that the fiat given to the police by the Attorney General to conduct criminal cases in some instances will not even provide the basis for the police to institute the instant action without authorization.

He thus prayed the court to strike out the injunction application.

The Ghana Police Service represented by Superintendent Sylvester Asare, however, opposed the motion.

Supt. Sylvester Asare first argued that the “Ghana Police Service is a corporate body which can sue and be sued”

“Since the Ghana Police Service can sue and be sued, filing the process does not render it defective. Seeing the Republic and the Respondent on the face of the motion paper does not take the right of the police to bring this application,” Supt. Asare argued in court.

According to him, the Supreme Court through case law has settled the position that independent bodies like CHRAJ can institute legal actions on their own.

“From the decisions of the Supreme Court, it is clear that the Ghana Police Service being the institution in charge of internal security is at liberty to initiate these proceedings’ Supt. Asare urged the court.

“We say that the Public Order Act clearly confers jurisdiction on the police to apply to this court praying for a prohibition of the proposed special event.” Supt. Asare advanced in his closing arguments.

The case, presided over by Justice Edward Twum, was adjourned to September 8 for a ruling.