Kokombas on collision course with IGP over relocation from Agbogbloshie

Leaders at the Kokomba yam market inside Agbogbloshie, a suburb of Accra, have expressed disagreement with comments by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to have their residents relocated.

David Asante-Appeatu – after a tour of the area on Wednesday following deadly ethnic clashes a day earlier – proposed the relocation of all settlers. According to the IGP, the continuous dwelling of the various ethnic groups in the area poses a national security threat.

But on Thursday, April 13, addressing journalists, Ezekiel Dannah, Secretary of the Kokomba Yam Dwellers Association, described the stance of the IGP as premature. A joint police-cum-military team has begun a house-to-house scouring for illegal arms in Agbgbloshie.

Five persons – two in possession of locally manufactured pistols – were picked up on Wednesday. The yam dwellers say they are ready to cooperate with the law-enforcement agencies on retrieval of arms from the area.