Henry Ekow Manly-Spain, a big wig of the opposition NDC has called for capital punishment for the armed robbers who staged an operation to free their colleagues in Police custody, while killing an officer at the Kwabenya police station.
The incident, which led to the death of a Police officer, Chief Inspector Emmanuel Ashilevi, has since suggested a state of insecurity in the country and caused public outcry.
“If and when the Police arrest them, I will urge the Police to give them capital punishment to deter any persons who think that Ghana is a movie set for Rambo and Arnold Schwarzenegger,†Manly Spain said in an interview.
The Ghana Police Service has since started a hunt for the criminals who stormed the Atomic Police station in Kwabenya, killed a policeman and then freed their colleagues who had been remanded by court for armed robbery.
As part of the hunt, the police has placed a GHC15, 000 bounty on the suspects’ heads.
“The insecurity in the country is becoming appalling and I think that we must allow our law enforcement agents to use punitive measures that will send signals that the culture of lawless impunity is unacceptable,†Mr Manly-Spain said. “They should be given the maximum capital punishment,†he added.
Collaborators of five robbery suspects had stormed the Atomic Hill Police station in Kwabenya where they were being held after a court had remanded them and forcibly freed them after overpowering police on duty.
In the cause of the operation, a police officer, Inspector Ashilevi, was shot dead.
The death is the latest in a series of murders of security men since last year.
The deadly operation to free the five armed robbers was allegedly carefully carried out with gang members surrounding the whole police station at the time that the suspects were being freed.
Prior to storming the yard, a member of the gang had done exploration at the station, initially approaching the charge office and claiming that someone had snatched money from him, before signaling the rest of the gang.
After realising that the police men on duty were few and that only Inspector Ashilevi was armed, the gang then stormed the station and opened fire on Inspector Ashilevi.
Following this, the remainder of the officers had surrendered and looked on as the robbers broke the cell open and sprang their colleagues from the grip of the law.
The development has since fed into a national state of insecurity in which at least 10 Police officers and some army officers have lost their lives.