Vigilantism in Ghana not different from Boko Haram in Nigeria - Asiedu Nketia

General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia has said Ghana is under threats of being overtaken by terrorist groups if government doesn’t put in the appropriate measures to curb the frequency of acts perpetrated by vigilante groups in the country.

According to him, the odds of the country experiencing attacks from extremists like Nigerians are in recent times by Boko Haram militants is very high taking into cognisance the fact that such groups started their activities on the same grounds as the NPP vigilante groups.

Speaking to the international community at a socialist forum held in Germany, Mr. Nketia compared the recent acts of violence by the NPP vigilante groups to that of the Boko Haram’s in Nigeria.

“Comrades, these developments in Ghana are too similar to the antecedents of the Boko Haram incidents in Nigeria. Our Nigerian friends who are here will tell you that Boko Haram started as groups of political vigilantes, trained by politicians for electoral purposes and they grew out of control, we don’t want to see that in Ghana”.

He called for immediate interventive measures from government to curb lawlessness perpetrated by some NPP vigilante groups in recent times and or publicly declare their incapability to protect citizens as is mandated them. He also urged the international community to mount pressure on government to produce results as far as the issue of vigilantism and violence in Ghana are concerned.

“We urge the international community, to do whatever it takes, to call on the sitting government in Ghana to either act or declare their inability to run the country because we handed a peaceful Ghana over to them, we would want to take over a peaceful Ghana from them in 2020”, he said.

Vigilantism in the country has become a major issue of concern in Ghana particularly prior to and following the NPP’s assumption of office in January. Several acts of vigilantism have been carried out by some youth wings of the NPP; seizure of toll booths and public toilets, lock up of some public offices including the NHIS offices in Bodi and Eastern Region and the school feeding office in Tamale, attacks on some public officers including the Ashanti Regional Security Coordinator, George Adjei and Dr. Prosper Akambong of the Tamale Teaching Hospital among others.

They also stormed a court process to interrupt a hearing involving some of their colleagues and free the suspects in the Ashanti Region.

President Nana Akufo-Addo in wake of these incidents, charged the police to deal with the matter.



The Minister of Interior, Ambrose Dery, also gave similar instructions, that the culprits of some of these incidents in areas like Gwollu as well as Karaga and any other group planning something of that sort must be dealt with.

Many Ghanaians have attributed the action of these youth to the fact that they were promised things that have not been handed to them yet, so they are taking the law into their hands.