Ghana’s security not intact – Agalga

The former Interior Minister, James Agalga has said the Chairman of the Defence and Interior Committee of Parliament was wrong to suggest that the country’s security system is intact despite recent attacks on security personnel across the country.

The latest attack was on the Kwabenya Police Station over the weekend. The culprits shot and killed a police officer on duty and freed seven suspects who were in police custody in the process.

The attack has heightened fears of insecurity among Ghanaians with some security analysts suggesting the police cannot protect the citizenry.

However, speaking to Starr News’ Parliamentary Correspondent, Ibrahim Alhassan, Chairman of the Defence and Interior Committee of Parliament, Seth Kwame Acheampong said the Ghana Police Service is in control.

“Our security system has never failed us, we are living in a very comfortable ambience…it is a very resolute security system…you will have one or two incidents such as this but our security is tight,” he noted.

But, Mr Agalga who is a member of the Committee disagreed with his Chairman saying on Starr Midday News that: “All these happenings that have been recorded over the past few days point to a certain insecurity in our country and so contrary to what the Chairman of my committee said to the effect that we live in a state of security and everything is well may not exactly be a true reflection of what we are witnessing now.”

Again, citing the attack on the Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) at Akyem –Akroso over the weekend in Oda in the Eastern Region as a further evidence of the Chairman’s flawed claim he added: “When you hear about these happenings you cannot stick your finger out and say the security of the state is intact.”

He urged the security agencies to up their game in ensuring that whenever crimes are committed the perpetrators are brought to book to serve as a deterrent to criminals in the society.

Touching specifically on the raid on the Kwabenya Police Station Sunday dawn, Mr. Agalga observed that it was unfortunate but was quick to criticise the porous nature of the security mechanism put in place there.

“First of all we are told that the police themselves effected the arrest of some suspected armed robbers and detained them at the Kwabenya Police Station. Immediately what comes to mind is that steps ought to have been taken to beef up security in and around the premise of the Kwabenya Police Station—especially, when they themselves had clearly arrested hardened criminals. Suspected armed robbers,” he told Starr Midday News host, Kwaku Obeng Adjei Monday.