Court throws out suit against Deputy IGP appointment

An Accra High Court has dismissed a suit that challenged the appointment of Commissioner of Police (COP) Christian Tetteh Yohuno as the Deputy Inspector-General of Police (IGP).

The suit, filed by Emmanuel Felix Mantey in August 2024, sought to prohibit COP Tetteh Yohuno from acting as the Deputy IGP in charge of Operations.

The plaintiff also asked the court to restrain the Attorney General and the Police Council from carrying out any actions in furtherance of the appointment of COP Mr Tetteh Yohuno.

Giving the ruling, the presiding judge, Justice Richard Apietu, stated that the plaintiff failed to properly invoke the jurisdiction of the court.

The ruling said that the Respondents and the President are not lower courts or lower adjudicating authorities. Therefore, they cannot be amenable to the supervisory jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 141 of the 1992 Constitution and Section 16 of the Courts Act, 1993 (Act 459).

It further added that the president and the Police Council exercised administrative roles and not adjudicatory powers when they appointed COP Yohuno as Deputy IGP.

Therefore, it held that Article 141 of the Constitution and Section 16 of Act 459 were not the appropriate statutory provisions to be invoked against them.

“I am of the considered opinion that the Applicant has failed to properly invoke the supervisory jurisdiction of the High Court and therefore, this Application ought to be dismissed and it is accordingly dismissed,” Justice Apietu ruled.

On July 17, 2024, the president appointed COP Yohuno as the Deputy IGP in charge of Operations based on the advice of the Police Council.

A statement from the Presidency described “COP Yohuno as a distinguished law enforcement officer, with a career spanning over three decades, and has held various key positions within the Ghana Police Service”.

The statement also described the appointment as “well-deserved”.

The appointment, however, was met with opposition from a section of Ghanaians.

It will be recalled that a few days after the appointment, a private legal practitioner Justice Abdulai, also sued the Attorney General and the Ghana Police Service.

The suit held that the appointment was unconstitutional.

He, therefore, wanted the apex court to restrain COP Yohuno from acting or purporting to act as Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of operations.