DSP Bawah Abdul Jalil: Black Maria Team Gets New Leader Amid Ibrahim Mahama Police Brutality Claims
- DSP Bawah Abdul Jalil steps down as leader of the Inspector General of Police’s special operations team amid police brutality claims
- Superintendent Augustine Dawson Amoah took over the reins with a focus on unity and professionalism
- A formal handing-over ceremony took place at the National Police Training School signalling new leadership
The leader of the Inspector General of Police’s special operations team, DSP Bawah Abdul Jalil, has handed over from his post amid police brutality allegations against him by artist Ibrahim Mahama.
Jalil handed over to Superintendent Augustine Dawson Amoah, who will be supported by three other senior officers.
Source: Facebook
According to a statement on Facebook, a formal handing-over ceremony was held at the National Police Training School on April 7.
He urged personnel to give their full cooperation and support to the new leadership.
About the alleged police brutality
Mahama, who is also CEO of Red Clay Studio, was allegedly attacked by police officers, alongside his uncle on Saturday, March 21, 2026, during a traffic altercation in Tamale.
Mahama lost a tooth in the incident and was treated and discharged from the hospital.
A video of the incident that led to the alleged attack on the renowned Ghanaian artist and CEO of Red Clay, showed police stopping the bus that he was in.
The Black Maria team denied any wrongdoing and said it only acted to save the artist from a mob.
Mahama rubbished the claims by the police and insisted that they beat him up after he refused to delete visuals he took of them on the street. The artist has since threatened to sue the police.
Ibrahim Mahama cancels prestigious engagements
Mahama has also said he was forced to suspend work and step away from some international engagements abroad.
The artist said injuries from the attack left him with speech difficulties and sleeplessness.
He has also had to consume food with a straw because he was unable to chew, according to fellow artist, Nana Kofi Acquah, who shared an update on Facebook.
Source: Facebook
He claimed to have lost a tooth in the March 21 incident and was treated and discharged from the hospital.
The artist feared that the incident might keep him away from work for an extended period.
“Well, the impact of the assault is that I was supposed to be flying to London tonight to give a couple of lectures from Cambridge to Oxford to the Royal Arts Institute in London, then to Helsinki and also to Milan and Venice."
“I cannot really sleep at night because my ribs are still heightened from the assault… I’ll be a bit incapacitated within the studio and just trying to recover my health."
IGP takes action on Ibrahim Mahama attack
YEN.com.gh reported that the Inspector-General of Police directed the Police Professional Standards Bureau to probe the assault on the artist.
Personnel from the Inspector-General of Police’s Special Operations Team, popularly known as “Black Maria, have been accused of being behind the attack.
Source: YEN.com.gh
