Correspondence from Eastern Region

Advocacy to get the Adjena Police Station completed to serve its purpose of ensuring the security and safety of thousands of residents along the Marine-Adjena-Gyakiti enclave of the Asuogyaman District of the Eastern Region has paid off with works on the facility nearing completion.

GhanaWeb in December 2021 in an article entitled ‘Adjena community appeals for support to complete works on a police station,’ highlighted the stalled project and appeals by the Adjena Youth Association to relevant stakeholders to intervene by providing funds for the speedy completion of the project.

The enclave has been without a police station for the past eight years when the Ghana Police Service evacuated the property from which it operated due to its deterioration, making it uninhabitable for conducive police operations.

The police operated from the rented facility from 1965 until it evacuated in 2015, leaving several adjoining towns such as Adjena, Pese, Adumasa, Gyakiti, Anyaase, Marine, Sedom, and several others without a police station.

As part of the efforts to address the problem, the community together with a popular businessman in who runs a hospitality facility in the area in 2018 began putting up a police station to house police operations in the area as part of his corporate social responsibilities to the community.

Unfortunately, the project stalled along the line due to lack of funds.

However, the visionary leadership of Nananom of Adjena towards addressing the security concerns of the communities led to them intervening and pooling resources to resume work in May 2023 to complete the project in tandem with UN standards.

The project, currently 95% complete would be completed soon and handed over to the state.

The spacious facility built according to police Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) is said to be the first of its kind in the Eastern Region and second in the country. It comes with four offices for the station master, inspector, detective, and general staff, three cells for males, and females, and a child-friendly juvenile detention area, a records room, an armory, an evidence room, a reception, a waiting area, washrooms, and locker rooms.

The Adjena police in the past served as a focal point for the air force in their modus operandi and augmented the security of the presidential lodge at Akosombo.
Krontihene of Adjena, Nana Dr. Ayimedu Brempong III during an inspection tour of the facility cited several interventions it would play when operational.

According to him, the police station will among others address the illegal activities of Fulani herdsmen which raises tension during the farming seasons, address incidents of child labor on the Volta Lake and human-trafficking related crimes, smuggling of narcotic drugs from Gemini along the Volta Lake through Adjena, protect the Akosombo dam and Mpakadan port as well as create an investor-friendly atmosphere.

The Krontihene also commended GhanaWeb for playing a pivotal role in ensuring that the security and safety of the people of Adjena and surrounding communities came to the attention of authorities.

Nana Dr. Ayimedu urged the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and other relevant sister security agencies to intensify patrols on the lake and the divisional police command to deploy the FPU (Formed Police Unit) to the enclave as a temporary security measure as the project is ongoing.

The traditional leader however appealed to UNICEF, UNESCO, UNHCR, the gender ministry, and other well-meaning NGOs to help with the furnishing of the child-friendly space with modern equipment.

The Overlord of the Adjena-Tafo Kingdom, Dr. Nana Twum Barimah III expressed excitement after the project since it will curb the degenerating social vices of the youth in the community especially, students.

Also, the Adjenahene, Nana Dr. Twum Barimah III, expressed delight in the immense efforts of Nananom, the Divisional Police Commander, (the late Dompre), and the youth in the community for their support and commitment.

He emphasized that even though previous and current governments continue to do nothing in the community, it did not deter them from contributing their quota to the growth and development of the country.

Also, the Queen mother of Adjena-Tafoman, Nana Okorwa IV thanked the Divisional Commander of Akosombo for his regular visits to the site as ordered by court.