A planned demonstration against the Akufo Addo government in Tamale, Tuesday March 21, 2017 was foiled by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Kandahar Boys group.
A group calling itself the Coalition of Concerned Youth groups of Tamale planned the foiled demonstration.
The protesters in red armbands were chased away from their converging point at the Tamale Jubilee Park.
The Convener, Mahama Zakaria later at a news conference explained that the intended demonstration was in disapproval of the locking of offices of the Youth Employment Agency and other state institutions post the 2016 election declaration.
He accused the Northern Regional Police Command of conniving with the NPP Kandahar Boys group to foil the intended demonstration.
Mahama Zakaria thus challenged the police administration to arrest ring leaders of the NPP youth groups that locked public institutions after the elections.
Below is the news statement copied citifmonline.com
PETITION PRESENTED BY THE COALITION OF CONCERNED YOUTH GROUPSOF TAMALE (CCYGT) TO THE HON. NORTHERN REGIONAL MINISTER BY ON THE21ST MARCH 2017 ONTHE POLICE REFUSAL TO ARREST AND PROSECUTE LAW BRAKERS IN THE TAMALE METROPOLIS AND THE REGION AT LARGE.
Hon. Minister, The coalition of concern youth as the name stands, is a representation of many youth group with our specific objective of ensuring that as citizens we help bring law and other in the metropolis since Tamale is the only place we as Northerners can be proud of.
Hon. Minister, Today, we have staged this demonstration against the Regional police commandand the Regional Security Council for their failure to arrest and prosecute those youth who went about conducting acts of locking up public offices and beating up innocent public servants and clients at their places of work.
These lawless activities were carried out at the offices of Youth and EmploymentAuthority (YEA), Savanna Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), Tamale Polytechnic, and most recently Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) and Unique Savana company a (private) andNot even the call by H.E the president Nana AkufoAddo could get the police to act.
Hon. Minister, ladies and gentlemen.We believe that, the police refusal to arrest theselawless individuals and groups is a dent on the image of the metropolis and has the potential of warding offinvestors. It is alsoa threat to the fragile peace we have been enjoying in this region,fora region that has always been in the news for wrong reasons, it is wrong for the police to keep on putting up this feet dragging attitude of not arresting and prosecuting these miscreant’s to serve as deterrent.
Colleagues ladies and gentlemen, indeed,these lawless youth are reported to have left behind their contact numbers at the various
offices they attacked.Also, some of their leaders granted interviews on radio and TV networks which should make the work of the police much easier.
Hon minister, whatcame to us as a surprise is a statement attributed to the police commander on Joy FM to the effect that they (police) contacted an NPP leader to retrieve the keys to the TTH CEO’s office and others that were locked by those Lawless youth.
Ladies and gentlemen of the press, these same leaders who are on record to have condemned the action of the youth could easilyhave assisted the police to identify and arrest these individuals if the police intended taken actionto discourage any miscreant or groups who want to take the law into their hands now, and in the future.
Hon minister ladies and gentlemen, our demonstration is aimed at ensuring that the police service and by extension the regional security council act within their mandate to arrest and prosecute those miscreants to avert any reprisal acts of lawlessness now and in the future since there is no status bar to the arrest and prosecution of people who fall foul of the Law.
Hon. Minister, Failure to do the above, amounts to refusal to obey lawful instructions from no less a superior officer than the Commander in Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces (H.E the President of the republic of Ghana, Nana AkufoAddo) since this call was re-echoed on the floor of parliament.
Hon. Minister, our respectable friends from the media, The attitude and behavior of our police service in this region towards law and order is nothing but a situation we can best describe as the police having declared Northern region a jungle, where each one is for himself and
God for as all.Where people commit crime with impunity and dare the police to arrest them.
Hon. Minister, friends from the media fellow comrades, we also want to remind the regional Commander of Police, that, we know him in this region we know some history about him in this region, and we can assure him that the Chiefs and People are watching him very closely. Or is he here for another special assignment?
Hon. Minister Ladies and gentlemen, on this note, we the coalition of Concern youth of Tamale demand the following:
· A clear demonstration on the part of the police that the security of citizens and their properties in the Northern Region is guaranteed, by ensuring through your intervention that those lawless hoodlums are arrested and made to face the full rigors of the law.
· An assurance that crimes will not be given party colour as a smokescreen to further endanger the Regions fragile peace.
· A clear demonstration to demonstration that. Both natives and non-working natives in Tamale metropolis are protected.
· Lastly, the police must ensure the a total Law and oder in Tamale and the region at large.
Thank you.
Signed:
Mahama Zakaria
To all media houses
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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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