Director General Of Police In-Charge Of Operations Visits Conflict area

Bolgatanga, Jan.26, GNA- The Director General of Police In-Charge of Operations, Assistant Chief Superintend (ACP) Kofi Boakye, on Wednesday visited the communal conflict areas in the Upper East Region. The purpose of the visit was to assess the trend of events on the ground and to strategise on how to resolve them with chiefs, opinion leaders and other stakeholders.

The communal conflict areas visited included Bukere and Soe of the Bolgatanga Municipality, Navrongo and the Bawku East districts. In all, the areas visited, ACP Boakye held separate meetings with the District Chief Executives (DCEs).

He entreated them to assist the Police to maintain peace and security in order to pave way for development, stressing that without peace no meaningful development could take place.

He stressed the need for good collaboration among the Police, DCEs, Opinion leaders, the general public and other stakeholders to combat crime, saying that the police alone could not do it efficiently.

ACP Boakye expressed concern about the way the public sometimes attack police stations and the police at the least provocation. He said the police were constitutionally mandated to ensure that peace and security were maintained to enable people to go about their normal duties.

He indicated that the police would not countenance any act of insubordination by the public to attack police stations and the police anyhow.

He however, cautioned the police to apply the lay down procedures in executing their duties, especially in the field of using ammunitions and stressed that any policeman who failed to follow such procedure would face the law.

He further cautioned the police to exhibit a high sense of discipline, dedication, impartiality, and professionalism to enable them to win public confidence.

The Paramount Chief of Bolgatanga, Naaba Martin Abilba III, expressed concern over the unfortunate communal conflict that erupted between the Youth of Bukere and Soe on January 15 of this year which led to the death of a 15-year old JSS female student, damage of property and nine people sustaining various degree of injuries.

Briefing the Director General In-Charge of Operation, the Bolga- Naaba announced that a six-member committee had been formed to find amicable solution to the conflict and the chiefs of the two areas had also promised to mobilise the youth of the two areas to smoke the peace pipe.

Naaba Abilba further noted that the Bolgatanga Municipality and its environ was noted to be a peaceful area, describing it as "Geneva of Ghana" and promised to ensure that peace returned to the area. The Bawku East DCE, Abdul-Ramah Gumah said peace was prevailing in Bawku and business and development were going on briskly. He however, expressed concern at the spate of arm robbery on highways within the region in which he himself had been a victim on two occasions.

Responding, the ACP said that one of the policies of the Police Administration this year would be to equip the Police adequately to enable them combat highway robbery. All the DCEs visited promised to help the police both logistically and by any other means to combat crime in the region.