Baba Yara shooting: Police did not use ‘common sense’ – Safety and Security expert

A Safety and Security officer with FIFA and CAF, Nick Owusu has questioned the police’s use of force in their management of the violence that occurred at the Baba Yara Stadium on Sunday.

Angry Kotoko fans clashed with officers of the Ghana Police Service after referee Charles Bulu sent off one of their players.

The fans in registering their anger, pelted the referee with stones and other objects which prompted the security officials to intervene.

The officials were able to restore calm to allow continuation of the game but the issue got out of control after the fans confronted the referee and his assistants after the match.

The ensuing scuffle resulted in a police officer firing a rubber bullet at one of the fans.

The injured fan is on admission at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital where official reports say he is under critical condition.

But Nick Owusu who once served as the chairman of the GFA’s Security Committee says the unfortunate situation could have been averted if the police exercised some form of ‘common sense’.

In an interview with ghanaweb.com, Nick Owusu challenged the police’s hastiness in evacuating the referee and his assistants when they could have kept them at a safe place within the stadium premise.

He also questioned the use of firearms by the police, positing that the action drives away fans from the stadium and also enhances the likelihood of stampede.

He added that the situation did not warrant the firing of shot and described their reaction as an overkill.

“What happened is regrettable. The fans did not react well because mistakes happened in football. It is not all the time that referees make mistakes and you feel that you have been cheated. If you look at the spectator code of conduct policy document which is enshrined in the FIFA Safety and Security Regulation which by extensions Kotoko fans are supposed to abide it, they had no right to react to that mistake the way they did”.

“Inasmuch as they were wrong, the police use of firearms was absolutely not necessary. I’m personally against the use of firearms at stadiums and the police had no business shooting even a single round from what actually happened. It did not warrant it”.

“In issues like this I always say that the number one rule is common sense. There’s an issue, tempers are high, what is pushing you to try to evacuate the match officials at that particular time. What would have happened if the match officials had been given some protection in the stadium or even on the field of play for two or three hours”? he quizzed.

In a related development, the Ghana Police Service has announced that it has interdicted the police officer who shot the fan.

The police, in a statement said it is investigating the matter and wished the victim a speedy recovery.