Police’s Counter Terrorism Unit to crash political vigilante groups

The Counter Terrorism Unit of the Ghana Police Service has revealed it will implement and execute Sections 36 and 37 of the Criminal Code of Ghana to the letter before, during and after 2016 general elections.

The Service is cautioning political vigilante groups who would employ the use of arms to be prepared to contend with the Counter Terrorist Unit.

The Unit is also sending signals to any ill-intentioned persons who have found their way to Ghana to retreat as the Unit has trained men to deal with miscreants.

To this effect, the Ghana Police Service has challenged any person who would attempt distracting the peace in Ghana to first seek the interpretation of Act 29/50 of Section 36 and 37 of Criminal Code of Ghana.

The Act, according to the Commander of the Counter Terrorism Unit of the Ghana Police Service Superintendent Raymond Adofiem, elaborates actions to be taken by security officers in the face of violence.

He was speaking at the graduation service of trained personnel in the Upper East Region where officers had engaged residents of Paga on counter terrorism advocacy.

Supt. Adofiem in an interview with 3news.com also revealed that the “Counter Terrorism Unit supported by the Ghana Police Service and Ghana Military Command has trained sixty able VVIP protection personnel and assigned them to all political parties to provide protection for their members”.

Thirty personnel have also been trained and stationed in all the ten regions of Ghana with an additional thirty as stand-by who will respond when the need arises.

The trained personnel have also been given the duty of protecting citizens.

The Ghana Police Service is thus reassuring the public of their safety ahead of the December, polls.

He, however, indicated, “with the vigilante groups they are talking about, we do not see anything wrong with vigilante groups as we see them as party supporters who want to be vigilant in the interest of their political parties,” but was quick to add “members of vigilante groups who will be found with arms will not be seen as supporters of political parties but be treated as common criminals”.