body-container-line-1

AMA, Police demolish tip-toe lane shops; threaten to down Mosque

By Myjoyonline.com|Nathan Gadugah
General News AMA, Police demolish tip-toe lane shops; threaten to down Mosque
NOV 5, 2013 LISTEN

Angry retailers, mobile phone and laptop repairers at the Tip-Toe lane, Circle, Accra are wailing as a combined team of police personnel and guards of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly pull down their shops, Tuesday.

The demolition exercise is to make way for the construction of the Circle interchange; the sod was cut a little over a week ago for work to begin on the Three Tier Interchange.

Over 30 shops which until this morning were used for brisk business have been pulled down with several others yet to be downed.

The police and AMA officials are also threatening to pull down a mosque right in the middle of a cluster of shops, a decision that has angered some of the Muslim youth there.

They have sworn to die in the fight against the destruction of the mosque.

A spokesperson for the retailers and Muslim youth Abdul Wahab Swala told Myjoyonline.com: 'We were here early in the morning when we just saw some AMA people with the police and without any notice they just started destroying everything.

'The mosque is where we get everything from. That is where we spiritually cleanse ourselves. That is where we go and meet our

creator. You can stop us from eating but you can't stop us from worshipping,' he said.

But the Accra Region Police Commander in charge of Operations, ACP Sylvester Boyuo told Myjoyonline.com the retailers were given eviction notice as far back as 2011.

He said the police is only present to protect lives and properties.

Asked if they were going to break down the mosque, ACP Boyuo indicated there is no way they will break down the shops and leave the mosque.

Citing an example in 1979 when the Accra Central Mosque was pulled down to facilitate the construction of a road, the police commander said the Tip Toe Lane mosque will also go down.

He said the police will arrest anybody who attempts to stand in the way of the demolition exercise.

The Member of Parliament for Ayawaso Central in whose constituency the demolition is taking place said the demolition is illegal.

Henry Quartey dared the police to produce a demolition order from the court which empowered them to breakdown the shops.

He called on the National Security Coordinator to intervene in the matter.

body-container-line