The Ghana Police Service has expressed its readiness to combat political vigilantism and all other forms of lawlessness that have beset the country in recent months.
The announcement follows an emergency meeting convened by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Police Management Board to discuss urgent topical policing matters that confront the country.
The meeting was attended by regional commanders and crime officers across the nation.
In a statement signed by ACP David Eklu, Director-General, Public Affairs, after the meeting, the police resolved, “Political victimization should not be an excuse in dealing with youth hooliganism and vigilantism.”
It stated that the various commanders of the Service would act proactively to confront all forms of lawlessness without fear or favour.
Political vigilantism and youth hooliganism have become a thorn in the flesh of the Nana Addo-led New Patriotic Party (NPP) government.
The phenomena have generated fear and anxiety among some Ghanaians, with many political, religious and civil society organisations calling on the government and the police to take stringent measures to deal with them before they escalate into something else.
As a result, the government has set up a high-powered taskforce to investigate and deal with circumstances leading to political hooliganism in the country, especially in the Northern Region.
The meeting by the police hierarchy also touched upon land guards and communal violence which are old-age nuisances in the country.
There are those who believe that land guard groups now seem institutionalized, with some security personnel recognising them, and in some cases shielding them.
Former Director General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Police Service, COP Bright Oduro, is rumoured to have been asked to proceed on leave as a result of his alleged involvement in shielding land guards.
But according to ACP Eklu, “Commanders would be proactive to identify, arrest and prosecute ring leaders and associates” (of land guards), adding that “Commanders would also engage the communities to fight crime and communal violence.”
Touching on illegal mining (galamsey) which is one of the main challenges facing the current government, ACP Eklu stated that the police would strengthen collaboration with Operation Vanguard (government’s anti-galamsey taskforce) and other stakeholders to sustain the efforts at curbing illegal mining – particularly with arrests, investigations and prosecution of cases.
He further maintained that the police were ready to implement strategies to combat the menace of Fulani herdsmen, which had claimed many lives, as well as armed robbery.
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