The exercise involving the 10, who are mostly students, was to identify and arrest those who sexually assaulted Amina after she was alleged to have stolen mobile phones and a laptop at the hall.
The Crime Officer at the Legon Police Station, ASP Emmanuel Basintale, who made this known to the Daily Graphic in Accra, said the names of those screened were being withheld for now.
He said more of the students would be screened and interviewed to find the perpetrators of the heinous act. “We will finally zero in on those we think were involved,” he said, and appealed to the public to give the police time as they carried out their work.
An unspecified number of students of the Mensah Sarbah Hall Annex B were, on March 31, 2011, said to have caught Amina with mobile phones and a laptop. They stripped her naked, with some of them inserting their fingers into her private parts.
One of the bystanders at the event filmed the act as it was being committed. Subsequently, the university authorities set up a fact-finding committee to investigate the incident.
The committee, which was given a week to present its findings, was tasked to recommend appropriate sanctions to be applied on the offending students. In accordance with the statutes of the university, the disciplinary committee for junior members will deliberate on the findings of the committee and recommend appropriate sanctions.
A statement issued by the Registrar of the university, Mr J.M. Budu, said various steps had been taken to establish crucial evidence that could help in identifying the perpetrators of the barbaric act.
It said the authorities of the university had since been joined by the acting President of the Students Representative Council (SRC) and the executive of the Sarbah Hall to render an unqualified apology to the victim of the unfortunate incident.
“Beyond these actions, the university is in close contact with the Ghana Police Service to assist in investigations,” it said.
The statement further urged members of the university community to be vigilant and report all cases of attempted theft to the relevant offices, as mob action was not an option for a civilised community.
It further pledged the university’s commitment to ensure that the perpetrators of the ghastly act were sanctioned appropriately.
It also assured the general public that the university would review existing policies and strategies aimed at preventing such occurrences.
“Management further urges members of the university community to be vigilant and to report all cases of attempted theft and/or theft to the relevant offices mandated to deal with such issues and refrain from taking the law into their own hands,” it added.
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