Fifteen unemployed nurses are in the grips of the police for not following due process in an attempt to find out why a promise made to them by Vice-President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur has not been fulfilled.
According to the Public Order Act, demonstrators must get clearance from the police before they embark on any protest.
Speaking about the arrests, the Public Relations Officer for the Accra Regional Police Command, ASP Effia Tenge, stated that the police, through intelligence, heard that some nurses were picketing at the Flagstaff House in the early hours of yesterday.
Alarmed, the Accra Regional Police Commander, COP George Akuffo Dampare, and his team proceeded to the spot to find out the situation.
ASP Tenge said that on arrival, COP Dampare identified the leaders of the group and asked them to disperse since they had no authorisation to be gathered at that sensitive spot.
After an hour, the group’s failure to heed the call by the police to follow due process compelled the Accra Regional Command to effect their arrest.
Information gathered from sources revealed that the group approached the police on December 30, 2015 about their intention to embark on a protest to the said venue to find out why they haven’t been cleared for posting as promised.
The promise stated that by the end of October 2015, they would be given clearance for posting.
After they met with the police, the police informed them that the Flagstaff House was a security zone and that it would be wrong for them to picket there.
Hence, the police notified the respective ministries, and negotiations with the group commenced.
However, a deadlock compelled the group to embark on yesterday’s protest, being the date they had earlier given the police that they were going to demonstrate.
In a related development, 14 teachers were also picked up by the police for a similar offence.
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