Aflao Troubles Not Over - Togbe Fiti Alerts National Security

Aflao Border

The Paramount Chief of the Aflao Traditional Area, Togbe Amenya Fiti V, has appealed to the National Security Co-ordinator to address security concerns at the which, he said, posed a serious threat to lives and property in the area.

He said last Friday’s incident, during which an Immigration officer was alleged to have shot and critically wounded a taxi driver, and the backlash from the youth of the area depicted the bottled-up feelings of the youth against the operations of the Immigration Service.

Of serious concern to the paramount chief was what he described as disunity among the various security agencies operating at the border, noting that the other security agencies at the border showed no solidarity but looked on as the irate youth attacked the personnel and property of the Immigration Service.

That, according to him, was his worst fear, since it had become common knowledge that there was lack of co-operation between the other security agencies and the Immigration Service.

He said rumours making the rounds in Aflao were that the Immigration Service was usurping the functions of the other security agencies, adding that last Friday’s behaviour by the other units during the border riots appeared to lend some credence to that perception.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Aflao on Saturday, Togbe Fiti condemned the acts of vandalism by the youth, saying instead of resorting to violence, the law should have been allowed to take its course.

He added, however, that his people should not be singularly blamed for what happened. He was glad that after prevailing on the youth to discontinue their destructive acts and refrain from further acts of violence, they obliged for Aflao to return to its normal state of peace and calm.

He said he and the Member of Parliament for the area, Mr Albert Zigah, had paid a visit to the victim of the shooting incident, after he (the victim) had been referred from the Aflao District Hospital to the Volta Regional Hospital in Ho, noting that the victim was in a stable condition and responding very well to treatment.

Togbe Fiti expressed misgivings about the fact that after he had returned from Ho, he received reports that some soldiers had been deployed to the Beat 9 area, from where the incident had originated, to beat up residents of the area.

He expressed the hope that the incident would be fully investigated so that those found culpable would be brought to justice.

In another development, Mr Zigah has promised the management of the Ho Regional Hospital that he would pay the full cost of the victim’s medical expenses to ensure that he was given the required attention.

He described the as the busiest and most peaceful in the sub-region and described last Friday’s incident as “unfortunate”.

Mr Zigah also called on the Ghana Immigration Service to post staff who knew the social and geographical nuances of the area to the border, saying, “We need some experienced officers who understand the dynamics of the area.”