Interior Minister Orders Probe Into Sibamay Zakaria's Assault of Pastor in Police Custody

• Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak directed the Inspector-General of Police to investigate how a breach of custody occurred
• A civilian was filmed slapping a handcuffed pastor arrested for allegedly insulting Prophet Muhammad, sparking widespread public outcry
• The minister ordered disciplinary action against any police officer found to have facilitated or permitted the breach, as well as the arrest of the civilians involved

The Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, has issued a series of directives to the Inspector-General of Police following a widely condemned incident in which a civilian slapped a handcuffed detainee at the Ghana Police Service headquarters.

The breach occurred while a pastor, who had been arrested for allegedly insulting Prophet Muhammad, was in police custody.

Police arrested one Sibamay Zakaria for the assault incident.

Video footage that circulated online showed the detained suspect, restrained in handcuffs, being struck by a civilian, triggering public outrage and calls for accountability.

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Mohammed-Mubarak has instructed the Inspector-General of Police to launch a formal investigation into how civilians gained access to the arrested person in the first place.

Central to that probe is the question of whether any police personnel facilitated, permitted or turned a blind eye to the security lapse.

The minister has also ordered that supervising officers directly responsible for the custody arrangement be formally queried, and that any officer found culpable face appropriate disciplinary action.

Beyond the internal police conduct, Mohammed-Mubarak directed that the civilians allegedly involved in the assault be identified, arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the law.

Strict Handling of Related Arrests

In a further directive, the minister instructed that all individuals arrested in connection with the incidents surrounding the case be handled strictly by the law, with no exceptions or preferential treatment.

The overall thrust of the directives is to establish clear lines of accountability, both for the security failure that allowed a member of the public to access a restrained detainee, and for the assault itself.

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The incident has raised serious questions about the standards of custody management within the Ghana Police Service and whether adequate safeguards exist to protect individuals in detention from outside interference.

Police arrest imam, pastor over incendiary comments

YEN.com.gh earlier reported that the Ghana Police Service, working alongside the National Signals Bureau (NSB), has arrested an Imam and a Pastor in separate operations following the circulation of videos in which both men allegedly made offensive or inciteful remarks about Prophet Mohammed.

The first suspect, Masud Abdullah, 35, an Imam, was taken into custody over a video that allegedly showed him delivering a sermon at a mosque in Ntensere, located in the Atwima Nwabiagya North District of the Ashanti Region.

The Police indicated that during the sermon, Abdullah allegedly made statements encouraging violence against individuals who speak disparagingly of the Prophet.

Source: YEN.com.gh