Platoons of policemen have been dispatched to the Konkomba Market in Accra following a renewal of clashes between New Patriotic Party (NPP) youth and their National Democratic Congress (NDC) counterparts in the densely populated Agbogbloshie area in Accra, with five people being arrested.
The five persons arrested for their suspected involvement in last Wednesday's clashes were Nuhu Alidu, 29, scrap dealer, Alhassan Sualey, 30, scrap dealer, Afrifa Darko Debrah, 42, trader, Yakubu Abdulai, 42, lotto dealer, and Abdeen Ali, 18 also a scrap dealer. They are due to appear before court today.
Even though the police were mute as to the political affiliation of the suspects, DAILY GUIDE learnt that they were NDC youth who pelted Nana Akufo-Addo's convoy with stones and other dangerous weapons after a rally at the Konkomba Market on Wednesday.
According to the Greater Accra Regional Crime Officer, Superintendent Denis Akob-Dem Abade, some persons were spotted throwing stones at the cars on the afternoon of last Wednesday when the New Patriotic Party presidential candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo visited the Odododiodioo constituency as part of his campaign tour of the Greater Accra region.
The cars were purported to be part of Nana Akufo-Addo's convoy, according to the crime officer, who added that when the Police intervened to restore calm, Nuhu, one of the suspects, became confrontational.
The police arrested the suspect and in the course of taking him to the Police Station, Alhassan attempted to obstruct the effort and was therefore arrested.
Continuing, he said as soon as Nana finished addressing a rally, the three others pelted the cars in the convoy and were thus arrested.
In the case of yesterday's skirmishes, many of the youth sustained various degrees of injury during the clash said to have been prompted after NDC youth stormed the residence of a youth leader known in Dagbani as Nakinna.
There was a rival youth leader whose sympathy was for the NDC, a situation which did not help in engendering peace in the sprawling slum.
The attack on the youth leader's house whose name was given as Isa Abass, was said to have been organized to show the resentment of the NDC youth with the arrest of some of their colleagues on Wednesday when the NPP flagbearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo visited the sprawling location to open a party office.
According to Prince Abdulai, Secretary for an NPP youth movement at the location, “when the NDC youth charged on the youth leader's house he was not available and so they vented their anger on other occupants and injured them”.
He pleaded with DAILY GUIDE to let out the news so there would be a reinforcement of policemen at the place because when he spoke to DAILY GUIDE “the situation was not good”.
The number of policemen managing the location, he added, was inadequate.
An attempt by irate NDC youth to torch the newly commissioned office of the NPP at the location was thwarted, Prince Abdulai told DAILY GUIDE.
Unconfirmed reports at the time of filing this report said of the injured persons, the situation of one was critical.
Sodom and Gomorra is highly polarized along Dagbon chieftaincy and political lines. Whereas the NPP youth belong to the Abudu faction, their NDC counterparts are Andani gate sympathizers.
There are occasional skirmishes between the two groups in this slum of the nation's capital.
A police post located at the place is usually unable to contain the lawlessness which breaks out when the two groups engage each other.
On Wednesday a similar incident unfolded when the NPP flag bearer visited the area, with cutlasses and other weapons being freely used by the charged youth. But for the intervention of the police the situation could have been disturbing.
An NDC sympathizer, Seth Ofori, denied that his colleagues had attacked the NPP convoy.
In his reaction, Lord Commey, National Organiser of the NPP said it was unnecessary to apportion blames at times like these. The leadership of the parties should rather advise their supporters to eschew violence, he added.
Meanwhile reports reaching DAILY GUIDE yesterday indicated that NDC and NPP supporters have clashed at Ho in the Volta region over disagreement on the pasting of posters.
NPP supporters accused the MP for Ho Central, George Nfodjo of instigating the defacing of NPP posters in the regional capital.
Supporters of the NPP were said to have resisted the covering of their posters by elements of the NDC yesterday morning.
By A.R. Gomda & Rocklyn Antonio
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