Officers at the Sekondi Prison are refusing to accept remand and convicted prisoners from the various courts in the metropolis in reaction to alleged police manhandling of a pregnant woman said to be the wife of a prison officer, resulting in the loss of the baby after delivery. The Western Regional Police Command, led by DCOP Hamidu Mahama, is holding talks with the Regional Prisons Command to resolve the matter, since the refusal to admit remand prisoners to the prison can pose a security threat. As of the time of filing this report, remand and convicted prisoners scheduled to be admitted to prison custody had been sent to the Sekondi Police Station. The issue has generated concern among the public, some of whom questioned the motive of the prisons authorities. They said even if there was a problem between the two security institutions, it should not warrant refusal by the prison authorities, to admit prisoners who had been lawfully referred to their facility. In another development, in the early hours of Wednesday, the wives of prison officers besieged the entrance of the prison, preventing the police from entering the prison yard with their prisoners. The women, who were dressed in red, drummed and chanted war songs, while carrying placards without inscriptions to register' their protest against the police. According to them, tile police should not have arrested the wife of the prison officer, knowing very well that she was pregnant. A police source told the Daily Graphic that a female community security officer had gone to the Sekondi Police Station to report a quarrel between her and the prison officer's wife. The wife of the prison officer was then arrested and sent to the Sekondi Police Station, where she was said to have been detained. When contacted, the Western Regional Police Commander said his outfit was working to resolve the impasse to enable the Sekondi Prison to admit the prisoners. DCOP Hamidu said full investigations would be launched into the matter to establish what exactly happened at the police station. Source: Daily Graphic