Nkonya-Alavanyo residents not cooperating with police to make arrest - Police

Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Nana Asomah Hinneh has bemoaned the refusal of residents of Nkonya and Alavanyo in cooperating with the police to arrest perpetrators involved in the renewed clashes.

Three people died and others severally injured in a sporadic shootings during an upsurge in violence believed to be linked to an old land dispute between the people of Alavanyo-Kpeme and Nkonya-Tayi.

Speaking with Lantam Papanko on Ultimate Breakfast Show, ACP Hinneh explained that unwillingness by residents to feed police with information of perpetrators is making their work difficult.

According to him, the suspects are walking freely because residents are reluctant in naming and shaming asking why they (residents) are shielding them.

He indicated that the residents are tight-lipped about the information of perpetrators saying they are doing their own investigations without the help of residents.

‘Its a little bit daisy, difficult, if you go there people are tight-lipped, everybody is tight-lipped, ask your correspondent there. Nobody is prepared to cooperate with you. You can’t force evidence or facts on anybody. So we are there on the ground doing our own investigations small, small. But it may take some time before you can get there. If the residents cooperate with us, we will get there, we need the support of everybody,’ he appealed.

He assured that calm has been restored in the area but admitted that there is uneasy calmness among residents because of the killings.

The Regional Commander said they are still gathering intelligence saying in advanced world some people commit crimes and make away with it.

‘Well its a little bit difficult to make arrest,… some people were distilling ‘akpeteshie’ and they were ambushed, two were killed and one seriously injured, two managed to escape, when asked, they were not able to tell us the suspects names, all that they said was they heard gunshots and ran for cover, in such situations, whom are you going to arrest.

We are still gathering intelligence to see if we can pick somebody. That is why we have not been able to pick somebody as at now. We are going to beef up security and intelligence is going,’ he explained.