National Security Minister Albert Kan Dapaah has said popular vigilante groups Delta, Invisible and the other forces are not registered and therefore do not exist.
According to him, those groups are action groups of party foot soldiers who are perpetuating violence and molesting Ghanaians.
Some vigilante groups affiliated to the ruling New Patriotic Party are on record to have inflicted severe casualties on political opponents and also vandalized many state properties. Recently, one of such groups, Delta Force, stormed the Ashanti regional coordinating council and forcibly removed the regional security coordinator, who had been appointed by the President, claiming they cannot work with him. Earlier, their comrades, the Invisible forces, had besieged several state facilities and demanded control because their party had won power.
Addressing Parliament on the issue Thursday, Mr. Kan Dapaah told the House the security agencies are working to rid the society of such groups.
“There are no legally registered vigilante groups in this country and for that matter, there are no such groups to be disbanded. However, I think we need to be pragmatic and accept that foot soldiers of the leading political parties are known to constitute themselves into action troops to molest and unleash violence on the peace loving people of this country.
“Mr. Speaker we need to stop these groups because they have the tendency to degenerate into militant groups that can have serious repercussions on the security of this country. We must not mix criminality with politics, lawlessness must be punished. Government has made it clear through the IGP to deal appropriately with all criminals,” he stated.
