Private Legal Practitioner, Kweku Paintsil, has advised Ghanaians against resisting arrest by the police whether they have done anything wrong or not.
According to him, once the police informs a person about a reason for which they are effecting an arrest, no one has the right to resist.
Speaking on The Law, on Sunday, he stated that, “the point of the matter is that a determination has to be made by the court of law. In other words, the police on suspicion that somebody is committing a crime, or somebody is in the act of committing a crime itself, has got the power to arrest and when they arrest they are entitled to do so after they have informed you of the reason for effecting the arrest.”
Mr. Paintsil explained that if the person being arrested has a peculiar right, privilege or want to deny allegations that constitutes the offence, they can only inform the court of law after the police have arraigned them.
“The arrest is unlawful if the police have failed to do what the law requires them to do, which is to tell you in a language you understand, the reason for effecting your arrest, that is the only circumstance (under which you can resist arrest),” he added.
It would be recalled that the MP for Madina, Mr. Sosu declined to avail himself for questioning at the Police station when he was invited for being involved in a protest against bad roads by his constituents on Monday, October 25, 2021. The demonstration turned chaotic when protestors blocked a section of the road and set tyres ablaze.
The legislator argued that he had a parliamentary call to attend and could not be apprehended until the Speaker of Parliament is contacted.
Mr Sosu later filed a complaint of contempt of Parliament against the two police officers to the Speaker of Parliament.
He petitioned Speaker Alban Sumana Bagbin to cite ACP Isaac Kojo Asante, Regional Operations Commander and ACP Eric Winful, the Adenta/Abokobi Divisional Commander of Police for contempt of Parliament.
Source: myjoyonline.com
