65-year-old woman reports Oda police to PIPS for failing to act on assault complaint

A 65-year-old woman, who lodged a complaint of assault at the Akyem Oda police station and feels the police was not doing enough to bring the suspect to book has petitioned the Police Intelligence and Professional Standards (PIPS) unit for an intervention.

Madam Mary Afia Brew, wants PIPS, the Attorney General’s office and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to intervene to bring the investigating police officer at Oda, Sergeant John Ntsiful to book.

She has accused Sergeant Ntsiful of bias and unprofessional conduct in the complaint of assault.

She said her tenant, Dennis Mensah Boadi, a 32-year-old employee of the Oda Office of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) assaulted her on July 30, 2020 which has left her with a broken elbow and a dislocated shoulder.

But since her complaint, the police at Oda has not done anything about the case, she alleged.

The Akyem Oda District Police Commander, Chief Superintendent, Mr Daniel Amoako, when contacted by Graphic Online’s Della Russel Ocloo confirmed the complaint and said the suspect has been charged for causing harm and was due to make an appearance before the Akyem Swedru Circuit Court.

Broken elbow

Madam Brew is expected to undergo surgery at the Narbita Hospital in Tema where the Orthopaedic Surgeons say, they will be performing a procedure to insert metal pins through the bones as a corrective measure.

What happened

Madam Brew told Graphic Online that Boadi rented a room in her house at Oda on August 1, 2019 for a one-year period.

On March 29, 2020, Boadi reportedly brought his girlfriend who had travelled from Kumasi in her attempt to avoid the lockdown restrictions imposed during the period to halt the spread of coronavirus infections to the house in Oda, Madam Brew said.

According to her, she expressed reservations about the conduct of the Boadi since they did not know her status as far as the Covid-19 infection was concerned.

“I was apprehensive of the situation because of my age, since we have been made to understand that older people are more vulnerable to the infection,” Madam Brew told Graphic Online in Tema on Friday, August 14, 2020.

Boadi, she said, however took offence and verbally assaulted her, a situation, she claimed degenerated into daily assault on her person, prompting her to issue a three-months quit notice to him after she refunded the rent advance for the three-month period to him.

“His conduct however changed after receiving the money. He became violent and will attack me at the least provocation forcing me to travel to Accra to be with my children so the period could elapse for him to leave my home,” Madam Brew alleged.

Assault

Madam Brew, said, she however returned to Oda on Tuesday, July 27 to take part in the voter registration exercise, however, Boadi who was not enthused about her presence again allegedly launched verbal attacks on her and allegedly hit her on the back.

The attack, she stressed continued the next day without any provocation, and on Thursday, July 30, Boadi at about 7: 30 am seized from her a bucket of water she was carrying to the bathroom, poured the water on her and used a club to hit her until she fell on the ground.

According to her, “some construction workers within the vicinity who heard my call for help together with another young tenant of mine who happens to be a national service person came to my rescue and took me to the police station to lodge a complaint,” Madam Brew said.

Police

The Police investigator in the case, she said however have not been helpful in the case as she claimed he has openly displayed bias and unprofessionalism in the handling of the case after a former District Chief Executive and officials of the NHIA in the community had gone to plead on behalf of the suspect (Boadi).

Daily Graphic