Highly placed Joy News sources have indicated that it may be difficult to find interdicted police chief, COP Patrick Timbilla criminally culpable in last year’s police recruitment scam.

Mr Timbilla is currently battling five charges leveled against him for his role in the February 2015 scam.

It would be recalled that about 200 police recruits went to the police training school last year with what later appeared to be fake recruitment letters. 

More than 10 people including police officers were arrested in connection with the scandal and COP Timbilla was interdicted for allegedly masterminding the scandal.

Discussions about Ghana’s 58th independence anniversary was short lived after the shocking news of his arrest was delivered by the then Police Director of Public Affairs, DCOP Ampah Bennin.

He walked to the studios of Joy FM and announced that he had a story for the news team and proceeded to break the news.   

The Ghana Police Service initially put Patrick Timbilla under house arrest and later changed it to interdiction when some lawyers raised questions about that charge.

The police administration has failed to provide details of what has been done since his interdiction.

Joy News has however gathered that COP Timbilla is currently facing a second investigative body.

After his arrest, he was made to face a special investigative task force, which was chaired by COP Bright Oduro.

This task force, which finished its work in March last year is said to have established a prima facie case against him.

A docket was submitted to the Attorney-General’s Department while an Administrative Enquiry Committee chaired by Commissioner of Police James Oppong Buenu was set up to try him internally.

That committee started work on May 8, 2015, and has had at least twenty-four sittings. The prosecution closed its case on October 20 last year and Patrick Timbilla’s lawyers filed a submission of no case on November 2, 2015.

Three out of the eight charges were dismissed and Patrick Timbilla opened his defence on the five remaining charges on December 16, 2015.

These charges are; his alleged connivance with some named persons to make false assertions that he was in the position to recruit people into the Ghana Police service.

Patrick Timbilla is also alleged to have received ¢11,400 through his Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) account which is believed to be proceeds of the recruitment scam.

He is again charged with receiving ¢10,000 from one Aisha which the committee believes are proceeds from the recruitment scam.

Mr. Timbilla’s fourth charge is that he allegedly received an amount of ¢80,000 from Alifa Adams in the company of Wuni Salinko, both suspects in the recruitment scam at his Ridge Residence.

The fifth Charge which Timbilla is fighting is the allegation that he met 14 victims and agents of the enlistment fraud at the forecourt of the police officers mess and assured them that they would be enlisted at the appropriate time.

Joy News has learnt that he has denied all the charges. Patrick Timbillah finished giving his evidence in chief on  February 23 this year, and is currently being cross-examined by the committee.

Sources familiar with the case suggest Mr. Timbilla may have exercised indiscretion but it will be difficult to find him criminally culpable in the police recruitment scam.

This may explain why the A-G’s Department is yet to bring any criminal charges against him, more than a year since it received the docket on him. Patrick Timbilla is due for retirement in October this year.

 The benefits of a retired police commissioner include retiring on his salary. If found guilty in the administrative enquiry, Patrick Timbilla is likely to lose all these benefits.

But beyond this, the senior police officer who was just a rank away from becoming the Inspector General of Police is fighting to clear his name in what appears to be the biggest scandal to hit the police service in recent years.