The Inspector General of Police, Mr. David Asante-Apeatu has concluded a day’s official visit to the newly created North East region, with a unanimous call by chiefs of the area on the police leader to increase personnel and logistics, in order to counter highway robbery attacks.
Mr. Asante-Apeatu arrived in the Northern regional capital, Tamale, on Monday where he held a brief closed-door meeting with police leaders in the region led by the newly promoted commander Timothy Bonga.
Two directors of the police service, including the Director General of Operations, COP George Alex Mensah, and other regional senior staff accompanied the IGP.
He first visited communities such as Wulungu, Kpasenpke village and interacted with the community chief and his elders. The police plan to open a new station in the community but lack of money to renovate the area town council building is stalling the plan.
The IGP took the opportunity to inspect the Walewale – Yagaba/Kubore – Fumbisi Highway – on which robbers have been terrorising marketers and travelers. The road is in extreme poor condition after a long disrepair and deterioration with parts of it inaccessible even in the dry season. These robbers capitalise on its condition to stage their sometimes deadly heist.
“The robbery cases often happen during market days. Our community is the last community between the Mamprugu Moiduri and that of West Mamprusi, and most of our people go to market at Fumbisi and then often attack them when they go to sell their produce at Fumbisi, Bulbia and Walewale market days. Anytime they go tomarket and they are coming back, they know they’ve gotten sales from their produce so they lay ambush and attack them, sometimes, they hurt them,” Ibrahim Sabia, Assemblyman for the area said.
“I remember one of the victims, they collected his motorbike, beat him and let him used his chest to crawl on the ground: and they used his motorbike to block any other vehicle or motor that was coming, so that night, they seized a lot of properties and money from people.”
From there, the IGP visited the Nayiri, Palace of the Mamprugu overlord, in Nalerigu, where he interacted with Naa Mahami Abdulai Sheriga and his elders.
The Police General congratulated the King and his people “for being elevated to the capital status of a region”. Mr. Asante-Apeatu stated that the creation of the new region will help the police to extend its service to every community there.
He thanked the overlord for the release of a 10-acre plot of land for the construction of a regional police headquarters. He also spoke about the poor state of police infrastructure in the area and promised to address the challenges of insufficient personnel and logistics.
The Overlord was concerned about the increasing robbery incidents in the traditional area. He appealed to the IGP to Increase the number of police officers and provide them with logistics to assist them to combat crimes. He urged the IGP to modernise crime combating.
The IGP rounded up his visit in Bunkprugu where the chief bemoaned the closure of two police stations at Bindi and Napkanduri and begged the IGP to re-open them.
The IGP promised to post more men to the area but also urged the youth, in the meantime, to assist with policing in the area.
The IGP and his entourage move to the Savannah region on Tuesday.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Eliasu Tanko
