The Special Prosecutor, Mr Martin Amidu has said the police CID is interfering with his work regarding investigations into allegations made against some government officials involved in the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Galamsay.
He said this in relation to the concurrent investigations conducted by the CID with respect to the Anas video which indicted Charles Bissiw and some members of the inter-Ministerial committee on Galamsey.
Responding to reports on Citi FM that the former secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on galamsey, Charles Bissue has been exonerated by the Police, Martin Amidu said corruption cases involving political figures are supposed to be handled solely by his office and not the police.
Martin Amidu said the police has no jurisdiction to investigate the corruption case brought against Charles Bissue by the Tiger Eye PI team.
“I told the CID they have no jurisdiction, I have written to the Ministry of Interior, copied the Jubilee House and said that we cannot concurrently investigate it, you set up an office to investigate corruption or when it suits you, you send it to the police..”
“This is not the first time this type obstruction which I refer to in my write up is happening, people choose to interfere with my corruption investigations when they think it doesn’t suit them but we have to do a professional work impartially” he added.
Explaining further the state of the case, at his outfit, Martin Amidu said statements have been taken from the accused persons and the complainants. He also stated that the investigator for the case is studying the pieces of evidence provided by the complainant.
“We commenced investigations but before I could invite the suspect i read a publication in which Charles Bissue said the CID was investigating his case and that the complainant should go there and provide their evidence, so I wrote to Director-General CID to tell her that the offences of corruption have been apportioned to the office of the Special Prosecutor, we have been petitioned and we have indicated that we are going to begin investigations, there shouldn’t be duplicity of our efforts so she should stop it, she writes to me that she has been instructed by the Minister for Environment who is the chairman of that organisation and the Ministry of Interior to investigate so the investigation continues, I wrote back objecting very strongly and then I began the investigation I wrote to the chief of staff to release Bissue, a statement was taken from him, Andy was invited and a statement was taken from him, we had by then taken a statement from the complainant who came with his lawyers, there was a video which was sent I haven’t watched it because I’m not the investigator…”
Martin Amidu’s frustration
The Special Prosecutor, Martin Amidu last week in an epistle lamented how some head of state institutions are frustrating his work.
He noted that for the fight against corruption to work properly every Ghanaian must play a role in helping the efforts of the Special Prosecutor succeeds.
Charles Bissue’s exoneration
Lawyers for the former secretary to the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Charles Bissue said their client has been exonerated by Police investigations on allegations of corruption.
According to the lawyers, a letter to the firm, Ampofo, Oppong and Associates, by the Police Criminal Investigations Department on its thorough investigation on the matter exonerated Charles Bissue of any wrongdoing.
According to the final report, the CID concluded, that, Charles Bissue did not circumvent the laid down procedures of the IMCIM in order to favour ORR Resource Enterprise, the company at the centre of the incident.
The report also observed that the documentary which was aired is not a true reflection of what transpired between the Presidential Staffer/Secretary and the said Yaw Ben of ORR Resource Enterprise.
Background
Mr Bissue, who is also a Presidential Staffer, in a letter to the President in March this year decided to step aside to avail himself for investigations after he was allegedly accused by Anas-Tiger Eye PI documentary on Galamsey fraud.
The documentary claimed, the Secretary was involved in alleged shady deals to facilitate processes for a mining firm called ORR Resource Enterprise.
The committee which Charles Bissue was a secretary to was put in place to address illegal mining and through that, it seized scores of excavators and arrested illegal miners including foreigners.
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