IGP sweet-talking Ghanaians
Arise Ghana demo in limbo
Edem Agbana, the Deputy National Youth Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has challenged Inspector General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare to call his men to order.
His comments follow the violence that characterized the ongoing Arise Ghana demonstration at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra.
The police fired tear gas on the protestors during the demonstration at the Obra Spot near the Kwame Nkrumah interchange after protestors tried breaking through their mounted barricade and human shield.
The protestors also pelted stones at the police personnel.
Speaking to the issue in a Joynews interview, Edem Agbana accused the IGP of sweet-talking Ghanaians by putting up a ‘celebrity’ image when in fact, he is supposed to be ensuring that his men maintain the sanity and safety of Ghanaians.
Making reference to an address by the IGP to some police personnel prior to the planned Arise Ghana demo on Tuesday afternoon, Edem Agbana said, “The police service has allowed themselves to be used by the Akufo-Addo and his cronies but we are not intimidated at all.
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“They were not civil because there was an instance where a police officer told me that he will shoot at the crowd and I gave myself to him that shoot me because I am their leader, right there in front of the police service. The rest of the men had to separate us because I told him, he was holding his gun and said [I will shoot at the crowd] and I said shoot me first,” he said.
He added that, “His men have not been civil, all that Dampare said and we have known Dampare, he is a celebrity IGP. He likes to speak nice things to the camera but he acts otherwise. He goes round frying Kelewele and bofrot and all that, that is not his work. He should come and see the unprofessionalism that has been exhibited by his men.
“Some of his men are extremely unprofessional, he must be held responsible.”
The Inspector-General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, ahead of the protest on Tuesday, told officers deployed to provide security for the Arise Ghana demonstration to treat the protesters with respect and dignity.
“We should continue to remember that those demonstrators are human beings like us; those demonstrators are Ghanaians like us; they are our brothers and sisters.
“Therefore, we should treat them with all the respect, the civility, and dignity that each and every human being deserves. In effect, we should treat them the way we would have loved to be treated if we were on the other side," he said.
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