The youth of Alavanyo in the Volta Region, has called on the Kpando Divisional Police Commander, Superintendent Prosper Ahlidza, under whose jurisdiction the recent atrocities are occurring in Alavanyo and Nkonya, to go beyond mere speculations, and employ intelligence led approaches in tackling the troubles in the area.
At a press conference in Alavanyo, the youth group; Alavanyo Youth Association, observed that emerging security threats in the area are being stoked by criminals who hide behind a perceived land dispute to perpetrate heinous crimes.
The youth group said although relative calm has been restored in the area in the past months, the Divisional Commander’s approach to the recent killings leaves much to be desired.
“On the 20th April, 2017, we heard in the media that two (2) palm-wine tappers were killed on a plot of land which is about to be developed near Nkonya Ahenkro. We the people of Alavanyo and indeed our chiefs were shocked at the pronouncement of the Kpando Divisional Police Commander; Superintendent Prosper Ahlidza who told Accra based Joy FM in the morning that “It was an attack from the Alavanyos”.
“We the people of Alavanyo are however perturbed at the way and manner in which the Kpando divisional Police commander, Superintendent Prosper Ahlidza sat in the comfort of his home and without conducting any investigations into the matter, deemed it fit to conclude that the gunshots came from the direction of Alavanyo and therefore the killers of the two (2) palm-wine tappers are from Alavanyo.”
The group believes the commander’s prejudicial comments led to the “reappraisal” attacks from the people of Nkonya which led to the death of four their people.
Discounting the threats of the age-long land dispute, the leader of the group, Richard Kitsi, explained that, what is seen as a dispute between the two traditional areas is not. He said it’s rather a land litigation among individual families of Nkonya and Alavanyanyo, which has little bearing on the peace of the two traditional areas.
“We are glad the youth and people of Nkonya in their recent press conference – Setting the record right, stated that the true facts about the recent happenings in Nkonya and Alavanyo, there is no such thing as land dispute between Nkonya and Alavanyo traditional areas as always portrayed by the media, but rather between some individual families thus, three (3) Nkonya Tayi and six (6) Alavanyo Kpeme families.
“We want everyone to know that, there is no land dispute between us and we know our boundaries.”
Pledging their commitment to the peace building process, the youth group called on the security agencies in the area to begin fresh investigation into the unrest, with requisite gadgets and skills in fighting what they believe is an organized crime.
“Our security services should employ modern technologies for surveillance, if they don’t want to go into the bush. Having drones for example, line-up over the boundaries in the bush will put some fear into the people camped in the bush and you will also be afraid to move from your area to the other to commit crime.”
Meanwhile, the Divisional Police Commander in a Citi News interview, denied ever making statements to suggest that the people of Alavanyo were involved in the killing. He said he only talked about the direction of the bullet.
“If you listen to the interview, I only said that the direction of the bullet was from the Alavanyo side, but didn’t accuse anyone from Alavanyo of killing the said person.”
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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
