Ecumenical church leaders offer to help govt deal with secessionists

The Christian Council of Ghana has on behalf of all the Ecumenical Church Leaders in Ghana noted that the security agencies alone cannot deal with the insurgency in the Volta Region.

According to the Christian body, the matter has taken a political twist, therefore it requires the involvement of the political class to step in.

A total of 60 persons have so far been arrested in connection with recent disturbances.

The disturbances were caused by suspected members of the Western Togoland secessionist group.

Fifty-four of these suspects have been remanded in custody as the government intensifies security operations in the Region to bring the insurgency under control.

A statement issued by Most Rev Dr Paul K Boafo, Chairman of the Christian Council, on Monday, October 5 called on the government to constantly engage the chiefs and the people of the Volta Region on the way forward on this matter.

“The security breaches that these acts have become too common in Ghana and it is time they are stamped out.

“Some Police stations have been attacked recently and many innocent Ghanaians are killed, maimed and assaulted.

“We would like to call on the government to as a matter of urgency get all the security services to declare a war on violent crimes especially armed robberies and to eradicate this from our society,” the statement said.

It added: “The present matter of the call of secession in the Volta Region is substantially political. Security operations alone will be insufficient to address it adequately. We pledge our readiness to support the government to address the issue amicably. In this regard, we will support the government in engaging the chiefs and people of the Region to achieve national cohesion.

“We would like to appeal to all Ghanaians especially the chiefs, youths and people of the eastern corridor communities of the country to remain calm in the face of provocation, to desist from being used to perpetrate the evil intentions of others and to safeguard the fledgling peace we enjoy in Ghana.”