Tokura admits to issuing orders

ASSISTANT police commissioner and commander of National Capital District and Central Francis Tokura has issued orders for the arrest of former deputy police commissioner Fred Yakasa and his lawyer, David Dotaona, for alleged bribery.
Tokura said during a media conference at the Boroko police station on Saturday that on an alleged complaint of bribery and corruption, the two had been ordered to be arrested and summoned to appear before ACP crimes to be interviewed.
He said they would be charged if the outcome of the interview warranted such action.
Tokura said before an operational order was drafted, a complaint, “very serious in nature”, was filed against Yakasa, Dotaona and a police officer acquainted to Yakasa and two senior politicians.
He said the complaint revealed a substantial amount of money was offered for consent orders to be signed to declare Yakasa as acting police commissioner.
Tokura said these allegations were serious and criminal in nature and it was necessary for him to direct criminal investigators and two sections of police mobile squad seven to immediately arrest Yakasa and Dotaona so they could be interviewed and charged.
He said a confidential police operational document had been obtained and revealed to the public by Yakasa and that had prompted him to defend police operational plans.
Tokura said the interim injunction restraining the defendants from arresting Yakasa and his servants and associates from performing their duties and functions as policemen “is only valid up until trial or a further order is granted”.
He said a clause in the operational order under point 4.1.2 stated that two mobile squad units would provide assistance to the arresting party to effect arrest on Yakasa and Dotaona immediately after the National Court ruling.
However, Tokura said since no ruling was made, no arrest was effected on the two men as they respected the virtues of the judicial process and would only act when the restraining order lapsed.
The National Court is scheduled to rule on the matter today.
Tokura said as the commander, he had issued directives for criminal investigators to pursue the matter persistently and lay appropriate criminal charges on anyone who was found to have broken the law.
He said contempt proceedings had been filed against Yakasa and his lawyer following the advertisement taken out by Yakasa and circumstances surrounding the filing of the complaint respectively.
Tokura said the latest allegations indicated that huge sums of money had been exchanged within political circles and “people with criminal intensions may take advantage of the situation and cause law and order problems in the city”.
He said the extra police flown in from the highlands were necessary to prevent opportunists and criminal elements from taking advantage of the situation.