Tema DISEC holds emergency meeting over serial murders

Tema, July 17, GNA - Tema District Security Committee (DISEC) on Tuesday held an emergency meeting over the continued gruesome murders of some people in the Tema Municipality and called on the public to muster courage to expose the criminals to security agencies for prompt action. Briefing newsmen after over one-hour close-door meeting at the Tema Municipal Assembly, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr David Quaye Annang said Tema should not be allowed to be plunged into security threat situation.

He gave the assurance that the security agencies would do all within their power to apprehend the perpetrators to avert further murders and asked the public to go about their normal duties without fears.

Mr. Annang, who is also the Chairman of the DISEC, however, stated that the security agencies would not achieve much if the public did not offer vital information and urged them to assist in their work, assuring the protection of their identity.

He asked the public to be security conscious by being critical of unusual activities within their communities, question them and call the emergency lines of the Police and the Fire Service for prompt security action before calling the FM stations who would only announce the information by which time the criminals had bolted as they also listen to news.

The MCE called for the formation of watch committees within the communities, which should be operational to complement the efforts of the police.

Mr Annang pointed out that the government would not condone crime and would therefore do everything to bring criminals to book. Within 19 days two elderly people had been gunned down by unknown assailants in their residence in Tema by adopting the same method of looking for the victims for discussions and shot them at the entrance of their main gates.

On June 29, the Deputy Manager in-charge of Operations of the Ghana Commercial Bank, Mr. Roko Frimpong was shot in his house at the Sarkumono Estate, while Mr Kwateh Quartey, a 61-year-old retired officer of the Public Workers Department (PWD) was shot in his residence at Community 9 in the early hours of today (Tuesday). In the two incidents the criminals knocked at the main gates of the victims requesting to talk to them, dragged them to the gate and ended their lives, indicating that the crime was well calculated to hit their targets right.

Meanwhile, according to the Tema Regional Police Public Affairs Officer, Chief Inspector Yaw Nketia Yeboah, preliminary investigations into the murder case revealed that the taxi used by the assailants for the murder was snatched from a taxi driver in the evening of the previous day at the Ashaiman Traffic Light. He said the taxi was hired from Ashaiman to Tema where the vehicle was snatched from him. 17 July 07