By Mohamed T. Massaquoi
The chief of Police at the Barri Chiefdom Police Station in Potoru in Pujehun District has been accused of conniving with an alleged criminal to defraud scores of local people.
The alleged fraudster, who is known only by the name ‘Hassan’, reportedly requested monies totaling Le27million from 10 people with the promises of multiplying the amount contributed by each individual.
Aggrieved residents said when the matter reached the local police, Officer-In-Charge, OC Quassi, single-handedly invaded the scene where Hassan was supposed to deliver on his promise and arrested him.
The villagers said later that day, the police in the middle of the night released Hassan. They claimed it was OC Quassi himself who accompanied Hassan to Zimmi to facilitate his “escape.”
Since then the villagers have been fighting to get back their monies. And they claimed that the OC has threatened to arrest anyone who attempted to complain about it in public.
The issue was reported to the Local Unit Commander at the Pujehun main Divisional Headquarters, where LUC Victor Williams has acknowledged receipt of the report but said he had asked those who reported the matter to bring in the affected people to lodge their complaint.
The matter was reported to the LUC by the Chairman of the Pujehun District Civil Society Coalition, Ibrahim Swaray.
According to Swaray, he was on a visit to his family in the chiefdom when 10 members of the community met him with a complaint against OC Quassi.
“From my own personal investigation, both within the police and among the affected people, I came to realized that OC Quassi indeed connived with the criminal to defraud 10 people who are resident in Potoru with over Le27 million,” Swaray said.
Sawaray also said that he learnt that Hassan had on him another Le150 million during his arrest and detention. He also confirmed that the police did release the fraudster without the knowledge of the people.
Aminata Kamara, a volunteer teacher at the Ahmadiyya Primary School in the Gbongay community, a walking distance from Potoru, is one of the victims. She explained that Hassan moved from house to house in search of people who would subscribe to his program. She parted with Le5.5million she had gathered through groundnut farming. Aminata said she had wanted to use the money to enroll in college in the coming academic year.
“Five years ago I lost my father who would have supported my education. This money has been my only hope of pursuing a university education. Now look, the police boss in Potoru has connived with a criminal he brought into our community unknown to us. Now this criminal has destroyed my future,” she lamented in a telephone interview.
The 22-year old teacher is a single mother with two children.
Aminata said when OC Quassi arrested Hassan, they negotiated with him to take a 50percent of the money to allow them to get back their monies. She said the local police chief refused, even with the appeal from his own colleagues.
“We were also monitoring the OC unknown to him. He accompanied Hassan to Zimmi in order for him to escape. With this act, I will never trust any police and I am not even sure we will get justice. Only God will help us in this,” she said.
OC Quassi could not be reached, after several calls to his line by Politico.
LUC Williams was reluctant to comment on the issue when contacted by Politico. In an angry tone, he said the matter was reported by the civil society chairman whom he had instructed to bring the affected people to him to officially lodge their complaint.
“There was no need for the OC to have detained the accused person. The fact that nothing was shown in the form of exhibits, it would have been an unlawful detention,” he added.
When challenged on whose responsibility it is to bring in the affected people to the police station considering the nature of the matter, the LUC said:
“All I can tell you is that I have instructed the complainant to bring the affected people to our headquarters for investigation to begin.”
But Swaray, the civil society chairman, insisted that the concern shouldn’t be about the community people coming to give report. He said the question that needed answering is why did the local police released the alleged fraudster.
Swaray accused the LUC of protecting OC Quassi, suggesting that he (LUC) may have received a share in the loot.
Swaray said whiles he was at the police station in Potoru, OC Quassi received a phone call from one of his men at the Moa Crossing Point, reporting the sighting of Hassan. The activist claimed that right before him, the OC instructed his man on the phone to allow Hassan to go, noting that he (OC) had given Hassan the Le300, 000 that they found on him whiles trying to cross over to Zimmi.
Swaray further claimed that when the police officer on the other end of the phone told OC Quassi that there was much on Hassan than the amount, he said he’d given him, the OC insisted that Hassan be released without further explanations.
© 2019 Politico Online
