Hoax news halts trading activities in Accra CBS

Hoax news halts trading activities in Accra CBS

Scores of people besieged the Accra Central Police Station yesterday, when word went round that two men who were in possession of a sack, containing the body of a baby girl and two living male babies, had been arrested.

Even when it turned out that the news was fake, the crowd, dominated by head porters, would not budge.

Although the source of the rumour could not be ascertained, most of the people who thronged the police station claimed that they heard the news from a commercial motorbike rider but they could not identify him.

According to the rumour, the unidentified motorbike rider raised an alarm when he was asked by the two men, who were said to be non-Ghanaians, to help a female head porter, (Kayayo), to carry a heavy load.

Stand still

The story brought trading activities in the central business district of Accra to a temporary halt, as shopkeepers left their shops just to see the alleged suspects.

When the Daily Graphic arrived at the scene about 12:40 pm, policemen were having a hectic time trying to disperse the crowd and dispel the rumour.

The police mounted a barricade at the entrance to the police station to prevent the crowd from invading the premises but that did not deter the people who kept drawing close and entering the police station in droves.

At a point the Accra Central District Police Commander, Superintendent of Police Mr Richard Bonsu, had to use a public address system to inform the crowd that no such arrest had been made.

When persuasion failed, Mr Bonsu invited five persons from the crowd and took them to the charge office and the cells for them to find out things for themselves.

“I did that because all cases that come here are recorded at the charge office and so I wanted them to find out for themselves, if we had recorded such a case,” he told the Daily Graphic.

As of 2p.m., more people were at the police station insisting to see the suspects.

Mr Bonsu advised the public to stop tagging other people as criminals and asked that people should verify such reports from the police and other security agencies.

Connect With Us : 0242202447 | 0551484843 | 0266361755 | 059 199 7513 |