Four officers at the Operations Unit of the Ghana Immigration Service were yesterday honoured by the service for refusing a bribe of GH�4,000 allegedly offered by a suspected illegal diamond dealer, Kenneth Kabutey.
The officers � Inspector Misbawu Yussif, Richard Due and Richard Asare, both Assistant Immigration Officers II, and Gideon Vanderpuiye, An Assistant Immigration Officer 1 � were yesterday honoured with undisclosed sums of money and letters of commendation at a get-together.
Briefing the media yesterday, the head of Public Relations Unit, Deputy Superintendent of Immigration, Francis Palmdeti, said management recognised the stance of the four officers as exemplary and deserved commendation.
According to Mr Palmdeti, when Kabutey and three accomplices � Ishmael Osman Amartey, 52, an interpreter, Osaka Bawa, 48 and Iking Freeman, a Liberian � were arrested at Kwashieman, a suburb of Accra on January, 24, for illegally dealing in diamond. Kabutey allegedly attempted to offer them bribe of GH�4,000 to �kill the case� or possibly prevent it from appearing in the media.
Mr Palmdeti said though the suspect tried to persuade the officers to take the money, they stood their ground and declined the offer.
That, Mr Palmdeti said, was an indication that the personnel were determined to discharge their duties diligently without any influence whatsoever.
Mrs Lydia A. Achel, an Assistant Superintendent of Immigration who led the operation to arrest the suspects, described the four officers as very hard working, loyal and dedicated. She said although every institution face challenges in the discharge of its duties, the four officers were not overcome by such challenges.
Inspector Yussif on behalf of his colleagues expressed gratitude to the management and other superior officers for the honour done them, saying that the reward will boost their morale in their quest to achieve excellence.
<<Print>>