A Nigerian, Samuel Wilis has been arrested in Ghana for allegedly kidnapping three young women in Western Ghana.
Police in Ghana said on Wednesday that their investigations revealed that Wilis spearheaded the kidnapping of the three women.
The girls were kidnapped on August 17, 2018 but public outcry over the incident only intensified this month. They are between the ages of 15 and 21 years.
“Before his [the accused] arrest what actually happened was that there was a catalogue of calls between the accused person and victim(s) which were analysed and the police established connection of the accused person to the three kidnap cases,” police commander in Western Ghana, Redeemer Vincent Dedjoe told reporters in Accra.
Dedjoe stated that Wilis contacted his alleged victims several times in a mobile conversation, promising them employment until their disappearance.
Wilis is said to be uncooperative with security officials in disclosing the whereabouts of his alleged victims. Africafeed.com gathered that he has been mocking the security attachés at the cell where he’s being held.
Suspect mocks police officers
Quoting a source with knowledge of the development, online news portal Starrfmonline.com reported that Willis boasts among his cell mates that he alone is holding the security forces in Ghana to ransom over the incident.
“The guy is enjoying in prison, he is hailed as king in his cells. He brags that he has kidnapped many people. He has been mocking Ghana in the cells, he says we can’t do anything about it,” the unnamed source said.
Ghana’s Gender, Children and Social Protection Minister, Cynthia Morrison demands the police scale up their game to rescue the women and also unmask the culprits.
Morrison said the news of the kidnapping has placed her in a “panic mood.”
“They [police] should up their game because kidnapping is not what we hear of in Ghana. It’s sad and I sympathise with the family,” she told local radio station Starr FM on Wednesday.
Police investigations faulted
A security analyst Adam Bonah has also faulted the police for their lack of urgency in investigating the case.
“Right from the beginning, I think there were some lapses here and there. Probably, the police could have responded quite quickly to be able to rescue these girls, but unfortunately they weren’t able to do that in the first 72 hours and in a kidnap case like this, the first, two to three days if you are not able to do any proper rescue then you know that every other day that passes, the situation will be getting out of hand,” Bonah told Starr FM
“And so, for me, I think they had the opportunity to respond quickly when the kidnapper or kidnappers were engaging families of the victims with regards to the ransom. They had the opportunity to respond quickly but there was some delay somewhere,” he added.
Campaign for the return of the girls
A social media campaign to get the girls back has been launched with many Ghanaians expressing outrage about the incident.
I stand with my sisters who have been kidnapped, the families and my people in #Taadi. I’m confident our girls will be found. I urge the police to do more and speed up their operation to rescue our girls. Stand strong Taadi. We will win this battle.#BringBackOurTaadiGirls ?? pic.twitter.com/BQ9JDai9yV
— Kofi Kinaata (@KinaataGh) January 22, 2019
If police inertia is slowing their recovery, your alertness can help #BringBackOurTaadiGirls.
Keep them in your thoughts and prayers too. pic.twitter.com/JgilQOYhru
— Michael Oti Adjei (@OtiAdjei) January 22, 2019
I live in Takoradi, been here since November last year and my Sis had to come from campus in december to tell me of her friend Prisscy missing since JUNE!
Very Pathetic and Lazy on the authorities about this issue
Treated with disrespect in highest esteem#BringBackOurTaadiGirls— ?berkslight???? (@kwakudavidberks) January 22, 2019
What is happening in Takoradi re; the kidnapped girls is very shameful to the image of this country.
We expect this country to grow, in image and in development. Our security agencies must act right to stop the recent dastardly events.
#BringBackOurTaadiGirls— Saddick Adams Obama (@SaddickAdams) January 22, 2019
Source: Africafeeds.com
