Nima Police go after gangsters

The Nima Divisional Police Command has begun a clampdown on the activities of gangsters and other criminal elements in slums and zongo communities within its jurisdiction.

The Nima Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Abraham Acquaye, said there had been an upsurge in crimes associated with gangsters, as well as street robberies in the Nima area, since the last quarter of 2017, a development he described as a great threat to peace and security.

"We have worrying situations at Nima where gangsters go agog and shoot indiscriminately because of factionalism. It has become a national security concern.

"Our patrol teams have responded swiftly and arrested some of the criminals, while others are at large. We want to tell everyone that we have had enough of the nonsense and so we will deal ruthlessly with them," he cautioned.

He was speaking to the Daily Graphic at a public lecture organised by the Imam Baqir Youth Wing of the Shia Islamic sect to mark the birthday of Imam Ali Haydar at Nima last Saturday.

The lecture was meant to teach the principles Imam Ali stood for to the youth and also draw useful lessons from his life.

Strategies

Chief Supt Acquaye said the Police Command had restrategised to tackle crime in the Nima area by updating its professional skills and building the capacity of its personnel on how to crack down on the notorious gangsters who rode on the shoulders of so-called celebrities in the music industry to cause mayhem and disturb public peace.

"We have the full support of the Accra Regional Police Command, which continues to support us with personnel and logistics each time we have to carry out a swoop to arrest the criminals," he added.

In line with the clamp down, he said, the neighbourhood watch committees in the Nima area that had been inactive because of some bottlenecks were being revived.

Collaboration

Touching on crimes being committed by foreigners in the country, Chief Supt Acquaye said the time had come for the security agencies to collaborate effectively to be able to track organised criminals.

He appealed to the public to share information on suspicious characters with the police for action to be taken promptly, pointing out that the security of communities was a shared responsibility.

Youth advised

A former Rector of the Tamale Technical University, Professor Yakubu Peligah, who delivered a lecture on the social policies of Imam Ali, urged the youth to refrain from acts that did not promote peace in their communities.

He asked them to follow the good examples of religious leaders of the past and strive to lead righteous lives, instead of being a threat to society.

Prof. Peligah called on the various Islamic sects in the country to form a council like the Christian Council of Ghana to give them a strong voice to speak to key national issues and make policy suggestions to the government.

He said acting in isolation would deprive the Islamic factions the opportunity to engage in national discourse.