Reports emanating from Ejura-Sekyeredumasi Municipality in the Ashanti Region indicate that the municipality is gradually becoming a ‘ghost town.’
This, the reports pointed out, was the case on daily basis, particularly after 7:00pm.
The reason was because of the upsurge of armed robbery cases and their attendant effects in the municipality, Today gathered.
According to a cross-section of residents who spoke to this reporter via telephone on condition of anonymity, four innocent lives have been lost in recent past, following the wave of armed robbery attacks in the area.
The deceased, they said, included drivers, a police officer and a petty trader with dozens of residents also being injured in robbery attacks.
The situation, the contended, has however, become alarming, leaving in its wake fear and panic amongst the residents.
Today further learnt that many of the residents had lost confidence in the police in the area as a result of the persistent robbery attacks.
This, the residents told our reporter, was because of the fact that the law enforcers were not doing enough to arrest the problem and also ensure the security of the residents.
Corroborating the reports on phone, Nifahene of Ejura, Nana Kwadwo Osei Ansibie II, told Today that the armed robbery cases in his area were very alarming.
According to him, residents go to bed as early as 7:00pm “because there have been instances where the robbers have attacked during the day.”
“I can tell you that it was the main reason why commercial drivers in the municipality picketed and blocked all access routes to the town five days ago. And their reason was that they will not sit on the fence while armed robbers make mince meat of their colleagues,” Nana Osei Ansibie II stressed.
He, therefore, made a passionate appeal to the police hierarchy to urgently come to their aid, pointing out that the situation was increasingly becoming unbearable each passing day.
Nana Ose Ansibie II disclosed to Today that the commercial drivers in the area were planning on embarking on another demonstration to protest the lack of action by the police in these robbery cases today.
“…but the traditional authorities had to impress upon them to suspend today’s demonstration so that we can sit down with the police and look at the way forward,” the Nifahene disclosed.
According to Nana Osei Ansibie II, traders and commuters have also stopped using Ejura as a transit point to travel to places like Nkoranza and Yeji.
“Nobody wants to use Ejura as a transit point after 7:00 p.m., to travel to towns including Nkoranza and Yeji because o the rate at which armed robbers were terrorising passengers,” he lamented.
Similarly, many of the residents also lashed out at the law enforcers.
According to them, though information have been given about some suspected armed robbers, they stressed that the police have failed to bring them in for interrogation.
That, to them, was not good enough so far as combating armed robbery in the municipality was concerned.
Against this backdrop, they called for a total overhaul of the police personnel stationed in the municipality.
In their view, a reshuffle of the police personnel in the municipality will help a great deal, noting that “many of them had been there for almost 10-14 years.”
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.
