COMMITTEE TO PROBE SEKONDI JAILBREAK (1B, MAY 5, 2010)

Story: Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, Sekondi

The Western Regional Security Council (REGSEC) is to set up a committee to investigate the jailbreak at the Sekondi Prison.
The decision followed a crucial meeting held by the REGSEC yesterday to deliberate on the matter.
While the REGSEC is studying the situation to come up with the right terms of reference for the committee, it has come out with a package to motivate security personnel who are currently combing every nook and cranny to recover the arms which were stolen by the escapees and re-arrest the three remaining fugitives.
The committee is expected to come up with recommendations to avert future jailbreaks.
The Deputy Western Regional Minister, Ms Betty Bosumtwi-Sam, who chaired the meeting in Sekondi, said the council would make all efforts to re-arrest the jail breakers.
On Sunday, May 2, 2010, eight prisoners escaped from the Sekondi Prison in an operation masterminded by a visitor to the prison.
They escaped with weapons and ammunition belonging to the prison, including seven G3 rifles.
In an exercise, a joint military and police team managed to re-arrest five of the fugitives after they had allegedly gone to rob residents of Ituma Estate in the Shama District of their mobile phones and money.
Four G3 rifles and ammunition are yet to be recovered from the remaining three escapees and the fake visitor who are now at large.
Ms Bosumtwi-Sam said the greatest worry of the Western Regional Administration and the REGSEC concerned the remaining arms and ammunition in the hands of the fugitives.
She said the allowance for the officers in the search had become necessary, since the period for the re-arrest of the fugitives and recovery of the arms had stretched beyond days.
She assured members of the public that the various security agencies would do everything possible to ensure their safety.
The deputy minister appealed to members of the public to quickly inform the security agencies about any suspicious movements in their communities.
She used the opportunity to commend the security agencies for their teamwork, which led to the re-arrest of five of the jail breakers.
Meanwhile, at the Sekondi Prison, arms and ammunition in the damaged armoury are said to have been moved to a safer place, while surveillance, security and movement in and around the facility have been intensified.