Former Black Stars midfielder, Derek Boateng was seen in a YouTube video posted on Tuesday by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), arrested alongside 34 other drivers for committing various traffic offences in Accra.
Several of the persons detained were driving above the 50 km/hr speed limit permitted in the city.
Boateng was seen in the video pleading his case with police officers of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD), who refused to listen to him.
The former Getafe player directed his pleas to the Accra Mayor, Mohammed Adjei Sowah, who was there to observe the proceedings, after the arresting officer told him that there would be no “selective justice.”
However, the mayor could be heard telling Boateng that he had no jurisdiction over there and that he couldn’t order the police to let him go.
Boateng who was part of the 2006 and the 2010 world cup squad that sent the country to its first quarter finals in World Cup history, eventually became upset with how he was being treated.
“I’m a national asset so I cannot run [away]”, he said. “But the way you guys are treating me, it’s like I’m a stranger or something. I’m not going anywhere”.
Boateng was spotted re-entering his car and driving away after the MTTD officer also sat in the vehicle.
The operation was a joint one conducted by the police’s Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD), the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS) on the Olusegun Obasanjo Way and J A Kufour Avenue in Accra.
According to the AMA, 31 of the arrested drivers were taken to the Nima Police Station and processed for court.
The 31 drivers were fined between GHC 480 and GHC 660, amounting to GHC 8,460, whilst four others are still in court. However, it is unclear whether the former Black Stars player has been sentenced.
