Two young men arrested at Damongo are security task force members - Assemblyman

The Assemblyman of the Kabilma Electoral Area in the Savannah Region, Hon Mohammed Abubakari, has debunked assertions that two young men from Kabilma arrested at Kojokura polling station in the Damongo Constituency are members of a National Democratic Congress (NDC) Vigilante group.

Speaking to Bole based Nkilgi FM on 20th July, 2020, the Assemblyman said the young men are a “local community security task force” patrolling some galamsey sites in the area which are Camp, Cloff and Tuntumba because of the rampant robbery cases around the place.

“The young men are not into politics but provide security and escort for galamsey people in galamsey sites like Tuntumba, Cloth and others that are in the Bole District but Closer to Kojokura in the West Gonja Municipality”; he said.

He explained that some of the people of the said galamsey communities went to Kabilma in the Bole-Bamboi Constituency to register but others decided to go to Kojokura in the Damongo Constituency which is close to the galamsey sites.

Hon Mohammed said the guns the young men were holding are hunting guns and are licensed.

Hon Mohammed Abubakari called on the Savannah Regional Minister Hon Adam Salifu Braimah, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for West Gonja and the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Bole to intervene so that the boys who are not politicians or thugs of any political party will be released.

He said; “Our leaders need to intervene because the young men were simply providing security to people who were going to a nearby community to register but were picked up”.

“This issue has nothing to do with NDC having vigilante group to foment trouble or NPP preventing them”; he lamented adding “I want to be emphatic that the young men arrested at Damongo are not into politics but are members of the watchdog committee that patrols the galamsey areas because of the activities of armed robbers”.

Two armed young men from the Bole Constituency were arrested on 20th July, 2020, and handed over to the Damongo Police for aiding in transporting people to register at Kojokura polling station in the Damongo Constituency.

The two, Iddisah Salifu and Atta Abubakari who were arrested by the military patrol team had in their possession 4 guns, amulets, bullets and a number of matches.

The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the West Gonja municipal Assembly and Chairman for the Municipal Security Council, Mr Saeed Muazu Jibril said told the media that, the young men earlier on 19th July, 2020, escorted a team to the Kojokura polling station who attempted to register but were denied the opportunity since where they were coming from is not part of the Damongo Constituency.

According to the MCE the young men went back to and resurfaced on 20th July, 2020 leading another group and wielding the guns and cutlasses but were arrested by the military patrol team.

The MCE said the information he picked indicates the Chief of Kabilma is much aware of the young men and is likely to be arrested after investigations.

He said whether the young men are in NDC or NPP, the laws of Ghana will take its course.

The NPP and NDC in the Savannah Region are at loggerheads over the issue.

The NPP accused the NDC of putting into practice the threat to kill people in the ongoing voter registration exercise The NPP alleged that three (3) buses full of Ivorians and some foreign nationals who reside in some Galamsey areas in the Bole district were accosted and arrested at a Registration Centre in Damango and that the buses were accompanied by about fifteen (15) gun welding vigilante persons belonging to the NDC in the Region.

But the NDC in a counter statement signed by the party’s Communication Officer Mr Malik Basintale said they “will not fall for such wild, evil and contemptible lies and as such will not waste much time debating an already failed armchair party regional executives that are trying so hard to be seen as working by their superiors in Accra”.

Mr Basintale added that; “Such fake stories are capable of causing serious tensions in the region and we call on the security services, particularly the police to as a matter of urgency invite whoever is behind this false accusation for strict interrogation and hence be used as a scapegoat to deter others who may engage in such despicable acts in the future”.