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Opinions of Sunday, 24 November 2002

Columnist: Owusu, Danny

The Armed Robbery Menace, Are We Safe?

We have quite recently been reading a lot of armed robbery cases lately and the devastasting effect on our infnant democracy. Much as we appreciate the efforts by the police in combating this menace, a lot has also been said about the complicity of some police men in force who are by themselve PR men for the robbers.

An armed robber does not come only to steal but to kill as well and no one needs to tell us that they are really a threat to our lives.His excellency Prez. J. A. Kuffour has always admonished ghanaians to come home and invest. The Minister for Private Sector Development, Dr Kwasi Ndoum has also said said the very same thing, so are most of our ministers and any government officials who go round the world on investment trips. Ghana has been declare the safest country in the west african sub region and one wonders whether somebody somewhere is not trying to throw dust in our eyes.

According to the head of the Police Striking Force Chief Superintendent Kofi Boakye, Majority of these robberies are commited by non Ghanaians. On a recent interview granted this writer, he says that the nature of the robberies are such that the robbers are using highly sophisticated weapons and one needs to be very careful in the handling of the situation.

It is on this premise that i really want to jot these few points here:

I am reliably informed that Some of our policemen before going on patrols ring these robbers alerting them to be ware because they are having such and such operation at so andso place so they should be on thier guard.

Also some of the police force really know the hiding places of these robbers and they swear an oath to theses robbers never to reveal thier hideouts.

Furthermore some of our forces men do go to the extent of going to these robbers hideouts where they buy cannabis and these hard drugs.

My question for the police administration is this that what are they doing about this ?

Are we really safe?

If the very men who are paid by the taxpayers money are doing this then i think that when found out such recalcitrants in the forces should be made to suffer and the death penalty should also be applied .

Also the prisons are choked for the simple reason that they are waiting for the president to sign the deatrh warrant.

What is His EXellency the preisdent waiting for? If all the evidence against a person have beeing found to be true and he's to face death what stops the president from signing the death warrant? As i always say on the radio, i think he is waiting for a minister's wife to be brutally raped and murdered before coming to grips that he shouuld do something.

As for the foreign invasion, i dont want to talk about it.

For Mr. President i say DO SOMETHING FOR WE ARE ALL AT RISK.

To the IGP i say weed out those informants within the police and if worst comes to worst let them face the firing squad, if this will help restore sanity in the service, fine, for HE WHO SHEDS INNOCENT BLOOD, WILL HIMSELF....................

A WORD TO THE WISE IS ENOUGH.

The writer is the News Editor of London's hottest Radio Station, HOT97 UK, 106FM
Views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect those of Ghanaweb.