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Regional News of Thursday, 7 November 2019

Source: mynewsgh.com

NDC calls for immediate interdiction of Policemen who shot Agona Swedru protesters

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The Deputy Central Regional Youth Organiser of opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Bright Botchway has called on the government to as a matter of urgency interdict the trigger-happy police personnel who shot at drivers who went on a protest recently in the Central Region.

Residents of Agona Swedru in Central Region on Monday, November 4, 2019, took to the streets to register their displeasure over the deplorable state of roads in the municipality.

Some concerned drivers who joined the protest told newsmen that they had to spend their meagre earnings in buying car parts for their vehicles as a result of the terrible state of the roads.

These angry protestors chanted “No roads, No votes”, as they blocked the Agona Swedru township roads and burnt tyres.

The police were called to the scene to quell the demonstration, but in the process, three drivers sustained gunshot wounds and are currently responding to treatment

Unconfirmed reports had it that one schoolgirl was killed in the process.

But, in a statement issued by the Central Regional Youth Wing of NDC, and signed by its Deputy Youth Organiser, copied to MyNewsGh.com, Bright Botcway, he described the situation as shameful and therefore condemned what the police personnel did to the demonstrators.

He blamed the Akufo-Addo-led government for recruiting NPP vigilante forces into the security services demanding that the police officers in question be sanctioned

“What transpired is a shameful reflection of the total decay in the security of the nation as a result of the padding of the security services with NPP vigilante forces and the calculated attempt by the NPP government to turn Ghana into a Police state”, the statement claimed.

“It is an abuse of power and an indictment on the Akufo-Addo-led government which has decided to gag Ghanaians from speaking out and protesting against the sorry state our nation currently finds itself”, the statement added.

“What was their crime? Their only crime was to rise against the worsening and deteriorating state of their roads and their pockets! And Akufo-Addo, as paranoid as he is against dissent, decided to unleash his thugs in the Police Service against them. We, the youth wing of the Central Regional branch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), is by this statement calling on the Interior Minister, the National Security Minister and the Police administration to interdict the wayward police personnel who shot those three innocent drivers”, the statement emphasized.