Samuel Atta Akyea, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee probing the leaked audio regarding the plot to oust the Inspector General of Police, has blocked members of the police management board from sitting through the in-camera proceedings
The senior police officers had accompanied their boss to the hearing as they did when he first appeared before the committee.
However, at the in-camera hearing on Tuesday, Mr Atta Akyea asked them to leave before the actual hearing began. The officers have been compelled to wait for the IGP in the conference room.
According to sources at the committee, the chairman said he was uncomfortable with the presence of the officers.
Meanwhile, the lawyer for the IGP, Kwame Gyan, has levelled serious allegations against the chairman of the committee accusing him of pursuing an agenda against his client.
According to Kwame Gyan, even though the IGP is the victim of the leaked tape, the chairman has turned the committee into a witch-hunt of the IGP, converting him from being the victim to the accused and subjecting him to a far-reaching and open-ended interrogation on behalf of his detractors.
Kwame Gyan also expressed concerns over Mr Atta Akyea’s conduct, alleging that the committee chairman was making prejudicial comments that could compromise the integrity of the investigation.
Mr Atta-Akyea, who also serves as the Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South, has come under intense scrutiny for his handling of the case.
Mr Gyan accused Mr. Atta Akyea of operating as if he were the sole commissioner overseeing the investigation. He expressed his team’s reluctance to accept such a situation going forward.
“He has his own agenda,” Mr. Gyan asserted, hinting that Mr. Atta-Akyea has revealed his biased intentions for all to see.
Kwame Gyan accused Mr. Atta Akyea of granting media interviews after committee meetings with detrimental comments. He accused Mr Atta Akyea of disclosing matters that he himself reserved for in-camera hearing and fabricating stories without basis.
“He will be granting media interviews to the extent that after one sitting, he went out there and said the extended tape which was submitted by Bugri Naabu, and had not been played at the committee, has been doctored. Very prejudicial comments,” Kwame Gyan told Joy News.
Kwame Gyan signalled his intention to adopt a more assertive legal stance moving forward.
“Because of respect for Parliament and the institution and persons on the Committee, I drop my guns, but I’m going to do what lawyers do, going forward” Lawyer Gyan stated.
It will be recalled that three serving police officers and a former regional chairman of NPP were caught on tape plotting the removal of the IGP.