Chairman of Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee has defended the police’s handling of the kidnapping of three girls in Takoradi, insisting they are doing their best.

Seth Acheampong said they are on course to helping find the missing girls and reuniting them with their families.

“The bottom line is for them to go after the leads that they are getting…we need to understand and appreciate the standard operating procedures of investigations,” he told Joy News’ Joseph Opoku Gakpo Thursday.

According to him, it is not right for the police to tell the public what leads they have as that will compromise the investigation and alert the perpetrators to cover their tracks.   

“Mind you, the kidnappers are within our fold and we cannot throw our leads out…the police are doing their best and it takes time to get to the bottom of this,” the Mpraeso MP said. 

Security analysts have demanded the removal of the Western Regional Police Commander, ACP Redeemer Vincent Dedzo, over their failure to locate the girls till date.

The police say they have tried unsuccessfully to get a suspected kidnapper to disclose the whereabouts of some teenage girls he has abducted.

According to Commander, Redeemer Vincent Dedzo, the suspect, Samuel Wilson Udoterg – a Nigerian – who has been in their custody for weeks, has until now refused to reveal the exact location of the girls and there is nothing the police can do about it.

DCOP Vincent Dedzo is Western Regional Police Commander

“We have tried all means to talk to him. In the initial stages, he took us to Kasoa [Central region suburb] and we combed the whole of Kasoa yet he could not lead us to where the victims are.

“He is not even ready to talk. He will tell you he doesn’t know where the victims are,” he told Joy News.

The police have come under heavy pressure for their lethargic approach to finding the girls and have been criticised for failing to publish the girls’ identity early enough for the public to help with information.

But Mr Acheampong says his briefing indicates the police are closing in on the perpetrators but are only not giving out enough information to the public.

“I have been informed that they are seriously on the ground and working...I have spoken to senior officers of the Police Service and they have given me that assurance [regarding the progress of the case] and I trust them,” he said.   

He says the committee will invite the security agencies so it probes the issue when the House resumes sitting.

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