Uneasy calm at Agbogbloshie as police sets up neighbourhood watch c’ttee
The Police Administration has directed that a neighbourhood watch committee should be formed comprising the 16 ethnic groups at Agbogbloshie in Accra, to help fight crime in the area.
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The Accra Regional Officer in Charge of Operations, Chief Superintendent of Police, Mr Kwasi Ofori disclosed this to the Daily Graphic after he paid a visit to one of the victims of the Agbogbogbloshie clashes at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) in Accra yesterday.
"We have asked all the ethnic groups to select two representatives to be on the committee, while other groups such as the Yam Sellers Association, Scrap Dealers Association, and Onion Sellers Association, will also provide representatives.
“We are going to do criminal checks on them at the Criminal Investigation Division (CID), to be sure of their background, after which the Community Policing department will give them basic training, then the Inspector General of Police (IGP) will swear them into office," Mr Ofori said.
He said the police had up-to-date information on the situation at Agbogbloshie and would collaborate with the stakeholders in the conflict to ensure effective resolution and peace building.
Mr Ofori urged the leaders of both sides to stick to the roadmap to peace building, stressing that the police would not hesitate to implement the law firmly to ensure that there was justice for all.
He charged the residents to remain calm and report suspicious characters to the police for them to take action.
Reprisal attacks
Meanwhile, there are signals of a potential reprisal attack by aggrieved family members of the young man who lost his life in the violent clashes between some residents of Agbogbloshie on April 11.
The body of the 27-year-old is still at the morgue, but there are strong indications that if security measures were not strengthened, especially during the burial of the deceased, some family members could stage a revenge.
Information gathered by the Daily Graphic in the slum showed that some persons who suffered gunshot and machete injuries in the violent confrontation, are aggrieved after being discharged from hospital.
“Some of the injured people have not fully recovered from the injuries but they do not have money to seek further treatment. They keep saying things that show that if care is not taken to manage the situation, the relative peace we have enjoyed in the aftermath of the clashes might fade off,” the Chairman of Old Fadama, Mr Kwame Noah Upuin, said.
It was his view that given the bitterness that the victims of the clashes were harbouring, it was important for key stakeholders from the feuding factions on the one hand, and the government and security agencies on the other, to dialogue, to address the key concerns.
“The leadership of the Dagombas and Konkombas alike, have met on some occasions and indicated that there was no need to continue on the path of reprisal attacks. The fact however, is that there are some bad nuts among the youth who are not giving peace a chance, so we need to collaborate and weed out such elements,” he said.
Attempts to speak to the leader of the Dagomba Community and Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) at Old Fadama, Mr Abdulai Yakubu, failed as he said he could not speak to the Daily Graphic because he was attending a meeting. Many phone calls made to him later in the day were not answered.
Recall
A violent confrontation between some persons from the Dagomba and Konkomba ethnic groups at Agbogbloshie on April 11, this year led to the loss of one life and injury to scores of others.
The intervention by a combined team of police and military personnel prevented the violence, which was characterised by sporadic gunshots and brandishing of machetes, from escalating.
The police intensified its operations and patrols in the area leading to the arrest of some persons who were in possession of ammunition.
