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An officer of the Ghana National Fire Service in the Upper East Region has been dismissed for misconduct.
Ibrahim Mohammed Alemiakurugo was captured on a Closed-Circuit Television Circuit (CCTV) footage shoplifting and going on to steal a customer’s phone at a supermarket.
According to a report by the Fourth Estate, the incident occurred on June 1, 2022, at the shop located on the edge of a road joining the Bolgatanga-Navrongo Highway from the direction of the Upper East Regional Hospital.
In the footage sighted by GhanaWeb, the officer in his service uniform is seen walking into the shop and stopping at one of the counters with powdered breakfast products.
He reaches out for a roll of powdered milk and stuffs it in the back of his trousers after turning around to ensure no one is watching him.
With his untucked uniform covering the loot, the officer moved to the checkout point where another customer was about to pay for his goods.
The customer, while paying for his goods, placed his mobile phone on the counter.
The officer who had picked a piece of bread with a polythene bag in hand stood beside the other customer at the counter. While the customer looked distracted and moved away from the counter, the officer placed the polythene bag over the phone and pocketed it.
It is reported that the owner of the phone later returned to the shop to complain of his missing phone leading to a frantic search.
After minutes of failing to locate the phone, a suggestion was made for the CCTV footage in the shop to be reviewed.
This led to a startling discovery of a uniformed fire officer not only engaging in shoplifting but going on to steal the mobile phone.
A report to the Upper East Regional Fire Commander, ACFO Anthony Gyasi Boateng, led to the identification of the officer who admitted to the offence.
He returned the phone and the leftover of the milk powder which was sent back to the shop by a team of officers. The fire officers made a payment of Gh¢20:40p for the parts of the stolen products which had been consumed by the officer.
Following a service inquiry into the incident, the officer who was interdicted pending the final outcome of the inquiry was dismissed from the Ghana National Service on July 17, 2022.
The GNFS’ Public Relations Officer in the Upper East Region, DOIII Callistus Nibunu, confirmed the dismissal and expressed disappointment over the conduct of the officer.
“Conclusive evidence was made that he committed the act, so his dismissal letter came. The act was committed in uniform. That sends a very bad signal as far as the image of the service is concerned.
“No organisation will want to be tagged with such an act. It’s indeed a dent on the image of the service, and the service has also used the Legislative Instrument 1725, which we are all bounded by, to apply the appropriate punishment as expected,” he said.
According to the Upper East Regional Commander, ACFO Anthony Gyasi Boateng, Ibrahim Mohammed Alemiakurugo, at the time of his dismissal, was preparing to take his first promotion examination, which would have seen him move rank from Fireman (FM) to Leading Fireman (LFM).
Meanwhile, Mohammed Alemiakurugo is said to have described his dismissal from the service as highhanded.
“It is true that it happened. But I thought the committee would have tempered justice with mercy. I don’t want to go scot-free, but the dismissal is too harsh,” he said.
He added: “Recently, an officer stole our office items in the Savannah Region. You reduced his rank. You didn’t dismiss him. As a first-time offender, they should have taken my salaries for some months.”
