A legal practitioner, Mr. Joseph Dindiok Kpemka has accused the Bolgatanga Police and Prisons authorities for deliberately causing the death of his client, Muniru Awudu, a 35- year- old mechanic.
Mr. Kpemka told a press conference in Bolgatanga on Tuesday that Muniru died under very bizarre, unavoidable and pathetic circumstances that must not go unpunished.
He explained that in March last year, one George Ohemey visited Bolgatanga with a Nissan Pathfinder and was linked up to Muniru by a friend.
Ohemey asked Muniru to lead him to a money lender so that he could secure a loan and use the vehicle as collateral.
Unknown to the deceased, Ohemey was not the owner of the vehicle.
Mr. Kpemka said Muniru led Ohemey to one Aziz, a money lender and contracted an initial loan of 3,000 Ghana cedis and went back and took more money.
Mr. Kpempa said Ohemey was arrested in Kumasi and led the Police to Bolgatanga where Muniru and Aziz were also arrested and were later released.
Later Aziz caused the arrest of Muniru in order to produce Ohemey to pay back the loan.
He said the late Muniru together with a police officer travelled to Kumasi and succeeded in arresting Ohemey and brought him to Bolgatanga.
Mr. Kpempa claimed that the Police released Ohemey and arrested Muniru and charged him with defrauding by false pretences.
He said his client was sick when he was arrested and his condition deteriorated, compelling him to make an unsuccessful appeal for bail at the Bolgatanga Circuit Court.
He said the Muniru was brought to court in a handcuff and almost at the point of death and neither neither the prisons authorities nor the police found it necessary to convey him to the
hospital even after repeated demands by his family.
Mr. Kpemka explained that Muniru's case was purely civil but ended up claiming his life and described the conduct of the police as "reprehensible, absurd and capricious".
He said Muniru should not have been re-arrested and detained in prisons after he had produced Ohemey to the police.
"We are considering civil action against the police and negligence on the part of the prisons authorities.
"Today is Muniru, tomorrow, it could be you or me so let us together rise and be bold to defend forever the cause of freedom and of our rights," he said.
While commending the Regional Police Command for their concern about the matter, he urged them to institute investigations into the circumstances leading to the death of his client so that whoever is found guilty is dealt with
according to the law.
The Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police Bright Oduro told the Ghana News Agency, that he had instructed the Municipal Police Command to investigate the matter for the prosecution of those found liable.