Two men believed to be members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) were yesterday reportedly arrested by security operatives at the Supreme Court for attempting to get access to the Chief Justice’s courtroom with fake accreditation cards.
They are Stephen Yankey, a staff worker of Akufo-Addo, Prempreh & Co Law Chambers in Accra and one retired Colonel Mensah.
The two were picked up in the early hours of yesterday by national security officers and handed over to the police for further interrogation.
According to the national security operatives, the two gentlemen were seen entering the Supreme Court, but when their accreditation cards were checked, it was detected that they did not have the official stamp of the director of the communication directorate of the judicial service.
The security said, when Yankey was questioned, he confessed that the fake ID card was issued to him at the Akufo-Addo, Prempreh & Co Law Chambers to enable him to gain access to the court.
But sources within the security at the court further indicated that the arrest of the two men was one of several who had attempted on many occasions to enter the Supreme Court with similar fake ID cards.
When the Registrar of the Court, James Mensah, and some members of the Court Security were contacted, they also confirmed the attempts by some people to fake the Judicial Service ID cards so they could gain access to the Supreme Court room.
The registrar however assured that the situation would be looked into and that the Communication Directorate of the judicial Service is considering modifying the ID cards to make it difficult to duplicate.
However, when the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Accra Regional police command, DSP Freeman Tettey, was contacted he could not confirm the arrest, but said the security are on the ground and vigilant to ensure that people who do not have official accreditation are not allowed to enter the court room.
He therefore warned that people who do not have accreditation should dare not come around if they have no official court business at the premises.
There have been several complaints of the use of fake ID cards to gain entry into the court, he said.
“This has therefore compelled the security to intensify its scrutiny at the gates,” he added.
As part of ensuring security and safety of the lives of judges and court officials, lawyers, journalists and some political figures that do not have the court official accreditation are not allowed into the court room.
Source: GhanaWeb
