HIGH COURT ACQUITS DR ADISA (PAGE 22, JUNE 15, 2010)

The Ho High Court, presided over by Justice Kofi Essel-Mensah, has acquitted and discharged Dr Millicent Adisa on two counts of resisting arrest and assault.
It also ordered that the fines she had paid at a lower court in Ho which had earlier sentenced her be refunded to her.
This was after the High Court had set aside the conviction and the sentence imposed on her by the Ho Circuit Court where she was arraigned on the two counts.
The circuit court had earlier convicted Dr Adisa on both counts and sentenced her to a fine of GH¢400 or in default six months’ imprisonment with hard labour on each count to run concurrently.
Dissatisfied with her conviction, Dr Adisa appealed to the High Court.
The prosecution said on March 28, 2007, a team of policemen from the Hawk Unit in Ho, under the command of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Tanko, embarked on a special exercise to check vehicles with foreign registration numbers and invalid documents.
During the exercise, a Mercedes Benz car, with registration number HN833-K-JA, being driven by Dr Adisa, was signalled to stop but she ignored the signal and sped off.
The police chased Dr Adisa and caught up with her at a spot near the Barclays Bank in Ho.
The prosecution said during interrogation, Dr Adisa, who could not produce documents covering the vehicle, was arrested and a female police officer was detailed to escort her to the Ho Central Police Station.
Dr Adisa, who was not satisfied with the turn of events, drove to the residence of the Volta Regional Police Commander and narrated her ordeal to the superior officer. The female officer was locked up in the vehicle until the superior officer rescued her.
In its ruling the court said “it was intriguing, how all the six police officers did not wear their name and number tags in total obedience to their service regulations” and that he could not fathom any reason for their unprofessional and indiscipline conduct.
He said the mere wearing of a police uniform did not make one a police officer, since there had been countless instances where people dressed in police uniforms had robbed innocent people. In other instances, the court noted that some police officers had robbed unsuspecting people.
The court said in the light of the above examples there was the need for police officers whether or not in uniform to sufficiently identify themselves to the satisfaction of a person they intended to arrest or take action against.
The court expressed the conviction that Dr Adisa without doubt, became apprehensive and suspicious of those who had arrested her, a situation which prompted her to drive to the residence of the Regional Commander.
“The conduct of the police leaves much to be desired. The conduct constitutes a dent on the immaculate character of the rule of law. The power of arrest bestowed on the police must be exercised with circumspection and within the limit of the law,” the court added.