IGP & Nima Police Endorse Political Violence ...Breeding Monsters To Devour Ghanaians In The Name Of Democracy

The Ghana Police Service, led by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Alhassan and Nima Divisional Police Command in particular; appear to have endorsed the many political violence that have been recorded in the country in recent times, especially at the headquarters of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP). Mr. Alhassan�s failure and the inactions of his men in arresting and prosecuting those political activists perpetuating physical attacks on their opponents, suggest their tacit approval, especially so when some of them were captured on camera wielding guns, cudgels, bottles and machetes, visiting bloody violence on their rivals. In most of these cases, the Police although present, failed to arrest a single person, apparently afraid of politicization. The Nima Division Headquarters of the Police Service, has been singled out in this special report because it has recorded the highest political violence case under its jurisdiction, but as it will be made evident in this report, nothing has been done to curb the growing menace; a political monster which is about to devour everybody. For insistance, journalists, who had accompanied President Yayi Boni of Benin to console Nana Akufo-Addo following his defeat to John Mahama, were attacked severely and their gadgets destroyed by party hoodlums in front of the 2012 NPP flagbearer�s Nima residence in December 2012, but no one was arrested. Akufo-Addo�s Nima resident is a stone throw from the Nima Police Station in Accra. The same party hooligans, converged later at Obra Spot at Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra, having served notice that they would not accept the 2012 Presidential election results, attacked journalists, drivers and innocent citizens, who were going about their daily activities peacefully. Obra Spot is also under the jurisdiction of the Nima Divisional Police headquarters. A young man, had his vehicle badly vandalized because he had John Mahama�s sticker on it. The same group also stabbed a taxi driver to death at Cantonments after he was identified to be wearing John Mahama�s t-shirt. These cases, especially the young man who had his saloon car damaged were reported to the same Nima Police Station, but nothing was heard although the event was captured on television. The same party thugs had earlier stormed the Dzorwulu office of the Israeli company Superlock Technologies Limited (STL) claiming it was manipulating presidential election results for John Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). Not long after, a founding member of the NPP, Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobby, was nearly lynched by party hoodlums at the NPP headquarters, following his invitation by the party�s Disciplinary Committee for saying the Election Petition filed by Nana Addo, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, was a useless exercise. The ex-Volta River Authority (VRA) boss, was kept away from the preying eyes of party thugs who had threatened to teach him a lesson of his life. He was smuggled into a vehicle belonging to one Kwabena Kwakye leaving his car behind. Just this year, a decision by the new NPP executives led by Chairman Paul Afoko to change security guards at the party�s headquarters at Asylum Down, was marred by these same party hoodlums who stormed the place with guns and clashed with the new security guards. Aside the known faces that spoke on radio and on television admitting their involvement in the mayhem, machetes, clubs and guns were on display in that incident but here again, the Nima Police, called to the scene failed to make a single arrest. The August 18, 2014 incident, in the buildup to the party�s Super Delegates Congress, thugs wearing uniforms with the inscription Invincible Forces (IF) again stormed the NPP headquarters to disrupt a press conference which was being held by Mr. Afoko and the General Secretary, Kwabena A Agyapong. In the full glare of journalists, these thugs physically attacked, fought and beat-up others on the premises perceived to be anti-Nana Addo. Though the Nima Police were invited, they as usual did not make any arrest. Interestingly, not even television footages and pictures splashed on front pages of newspapers pushed these men in uniform to act by maintaining law and order. One Opoku, an Alan Kyeremanten supporter, had his head hit with an implement in the run up to the NPP�s primary in 2007 forcing him into coma and near death. The Nima Police Station, again did nothing about the case after it was reported. Opoku�s health condition according to his friend Kwadwo Yeboah, is terrible as you read this article. It is becoming evidently clear that the NPP, especially supporters of Nana Addo, are becoming very intolerant and have succeeded in attacking anyone who disapproves his candidature. Indeed, Opoku was said to have been beaten by known Nana Addo�s personal bodyguards, who were numbering about six. Another victim of the NPP political violence, who has also been denied justice, is Nana Kwame. He is also known to have suffered similar fate as Opoku in 2010, during the party�s primary. Nana Kwame due to his ordeal is now said to be paralyzed. Nana Addo, was said to have visited Nana Kwame at Ridge Hospital in Accra, but passed a disparaging comment to the effect that the victim of the attack make too much noise, hence the violent attack. Just last Sunday, a 46-year-old ex-official of COCOBOD, Ibrahim Atuluk , was also attacked and his arm broken by some three thugs, who the victim said are known supporters of Nana Addo. It was the second time he was being attacked. The Nima Police, had failed to act on the first incident which the victim claims involved the pulling of a pistol on him. The victim, who has since gone through two successive surgeries told The Herald that though he does not know the names of his attackers, they are known faces in the NPP headquarters and can be identified. But the Nima Police On Tuesday, told The Herald that though they are separately investigating the two incidents, they are waiting for Atuluk�s injury to heal. According to them, they had gone to the crime scene, but people at the NPP headquarters have denied the first incident, but they are waiting for Atuluk to bring them his witness and his medical report from his doctor. However, in a conversation with this paper yesterday, Mr. Ibrahim said that on that fateful Sunday evening when the incident happened, he saw his attackers at the security post at the NPP headquarters before he left the party premises for Mr. Afoko�s house. He insisted that if the Police were interested and serious about pursuing the unfortunate incident, they could go to the NPP headquarters and inquire from two security guards, Robert and Denis, the whereabouts of those three who sat with them on that evening around 5:30 PM. Meanwhile, a case can also be made of an incident in Jirapa, Upper West Region, where during a by-election after the demise of the Member of Parliament (MP) Edward Kojo Salia, one NDC activist nicknamed �Red� was said to have been captured on video shooting into a crowd. One person, who has never missed the opportunity to mention that criminal act, is the former MP for Okaikoi South, Nana Akomea. But mention has also been made of what happened at Atiwa in the Eastern Region, where Nana Akufo-Addo, boldly stated on tape that the NPP showed a little of their fighting prowess. The 2012 violent attack on CID Headquarters and Adjabeng Circuit Court by the NPP supporters, following the arrest of Kennedy Agyapong, an NPP MP over his ethnocentric comment demanding attacks on Ewes and Gas, also went without arrest and prosecution. It appears the nation is kissing trouble in the run-up to the 2016 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections. More to come