DVLA staff demands apology from Graphic, Daily Guide

Solicitors of Miss Selina Opoku, a Data Entry Clerk of the Drivers’ Vehicle and Licensing Authority (DVLA), are demanding an unqualified apology from the Daily Graphic and Daily Guide for publishing falsehoods about their client.

Similarly, they are also demanding from the Police CID boss, DCOP Prosper Agblor, the same for causing the publication of falsehoods about their client in the two daily newspapers.

According to the lawyers, the publication in the two newspapers gave the erroneous impression that their client, together with two others, was arrested recently and is indeed still in police custody.

The lawyers in a rejoinder to the media insisted that the discharge of their client took place two months ago, adding “It is totally unfair for the Police to cause the publication of an issue which they are fully aware has been disposed of for lack of evidence”.

The publications on the subject were carried by the Daily Graphic of Saturday, October 23, 2010 edition by Mary Mensah, while that of the Daily Guide publication was filed by Rocklyn Antonio on Monday, October 25, 2010.

In August 2010, the Police (BNI) went to the DVLA and arrested a number of workers including Selina Opoku, and took them to the Police CID Head Quarters on the charge of assisting one George Adjetey Sowah, to acquire a driving license, without going through the due process.

During investigations the police called George Adjetey Sowah, who confirmed that he used the due process to apply for a driving license, adding that he bought the statutory form for the license, filled it, paid the relevant fees at the bank and was issued with a temporal license.

After a thorough investigation by the officer in charge, it was found out that the allegation had no basis.

The case was thus struck out by one lawyer Baah for lack of evidence and accordingly discharged Ms. Opoku of the offence.

According to the lawyers of Selina, she reported to work the following day and has since been at post without any charge or investigation of any form, adding “we can boldly confirm that our client, Selina Opoku, has been working consistently at her post at the DVLA without any query or warning from any of her employers”.

Below is the reaction of Selina Opoku’s lawyers:

The publication gives the erroneous impression that our client together with others has been arrested (recently) and perhaps is in police custody.

This is not the case. The investigation and discharge of our client took place 2 months ago. It is totally unfair for the police to cause the publication of an issue which they are fully aware has been disposed of for lack of evidence.

We totally and vehemently deny paragraph 2 of your publication which sought to include that our client in any act of “providing document of old vehicles to some importers of stolen vehicles from abroad to cover their vehicles”

We wish to emphasize that no police has interrogated, investigated, arrested, detained or charged Selina Opoku in relation to the offence of providing documents of old vehicles to importers of stolen vehicles. We dare the Police Officer, DCOP Prosper Agblor to prove.

We also insist that if the police by any means went undercover and managed to secure a genuine driving license without going through the due process, our client Selina Opoku, apart from doing her official duties in the usual way, did not bet nor part the company of this crime.

We find the statement of Director General of CID, DCOP Prosper Agblor to be wishy-washy, with no substance, no specific of the issue, no clearly identified personality and in all, a mere generalization of issue only to embarrass and tarnish the reputation of innocent and honest worker and citizen of Ghana.

How can the police say that they secured GENUINE DRIVER’S LINCENSE and yet accuse others of fraud including our client who was doing her usual functions. If the process was fraudulent, then how did the license turn out to be genuine?

In any case in which name did the Police secure the said license. Which part of the official process was breached? What role did Selina Opoku play in the alleged fraudulent process?

If DCOP Agblor claims that the signature of the Regional Licensing officer was forged, did he show to the media the alleged forgery? Was the forged document shown to the press? Is he saying that Selina Opoku was the officer who forged the said signature? We vehemently deny that our client was involved in any forgery of signature of the Regional Licensing Officer. We put DCOP Prosper Agblor to prove otherwise.

We find as dishonest, unfair, mischievous, and totally unprofessional for DCOP Prosper Agblor to associate our client with any offence of collecting documents of old vehicles to be sold to importers of stolen cars when there has been no interrogation or investigation and indeed no arrest of our client relating to the offence. It is absolutely obvious that the DCOP totally with others only seek to defame our client.

We also find it highly unprofessional and dishonesty in the highest form that DCOP Prosper Agblor fails to comment and inform the press of the fact that our client had been cleared of any suspicion of offence.

Did the DCOP confer or consult Mr. Baah on Selina Opoku’s issue. Or the DCOP only wants to cast dust into the eyes of the public, give an impression of hard work or a malicious and mischievous attempt to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it.

We dare DCOP Agblor to come again. We demand that he renders an unqualified apology to our client for the defamation of her”.