Police declares leader, member of secessionist group wanted

The Ghana Police Service has declared wanted one Hope Mortey and Charles Kwami Kudzordzi, a member and leader respectively of the HomeLand Study Group Foundation, a secessionist group.

The Group, based in Ho, with branches in other parts of the country, declared a purported independence for Western Togoland in Ho on November 2019.

“We’re in control”, security agencies assured; separatist grp members arrested Kudzordzi, the leader, who declared the independence, had been on the run since then and is being pursued by the security agencies.

Mr James Oppong-Boanuh, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), who addressed the media in Accra on Tuesday, asked Mortey and Kudzordzi to report to the nearest police station.

The IGP said though it was anticipated that the trained group members may be used to destabilise the Volta Region, members of the communities there should partner the Police in crime combat and volunteer information that could lead to their arrest.

Meanwhile, he assured the citizenry that the security agencies were on top of issues and committed to protecting lives and property before, during and after the Christmas festivities.

He said the public should remain calm but alert the police and other security agencies within their reach of any suspicious activities.

Giving the background of the Group, Mr Oppong-Boanuh said it had been on sensitisation programmes across the Volta Region, Upper West, Savannah, Oti, Eastern and Greater Accra trying to gain support for its agenda.

He said group members had been involved in recruitment of young men to form an armed force, which they have named “Akpoyawo,” with the promise of recruiting them into the security agencies when they gained independence.

Their activities have been on surveillance of the security agencies since their inception, he noted.

The IGP said following the purported declaration on November 16, 2019, the Volta Regional Police Command, in collaboration with personnel from the 66 Artillery Regiment, and the Bureau of National Investigations arrested 10 persons at the residence of Kuzordzi, three days later.

He said registration documents of the Group, identification cards, flags, designs of Western Togoland Coat of Arms, a national register containing names and hometowns of the members and a digital video recorder were seized, adding that the accused were before court.

In addition, 10 others from Tumu in the Sissala East Municipality of the Upper West Region were also charged with conspiracy to commit crime, to wit treason.

Mr Oppong-Boanuh said intelligence gathered showed that the Group had upcoming activities from December 20 to 27 at selected locations.

Hence, the various security agencies were on standby to deal with any activity that would disturb the peace of the country, he added.