The Greater Accra Police command have arrested 10 persons following clashes that ensued between some of the police personnel and the traders at Kantamanto on Monday evening.
The police were dispatched to Kantamanto which was destroyed by fire on Sunday to protect the area from traders who were trying to reconstruct their burnt sheds, even though the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has given a directive to move to designated markets.
DSP Freeman Tetteh, Public Relations Officer of the Greater Accra Police Command told Kwami Sefa-Kayi that the 10 persons charged with rioting and arson, will be processed before court.
Explaining, DSP Tetteh said for now, Kantamanto is seen as a crime scene; nobody is to be seen obstructing with investigations that is being carried out by the Ghana National Fire Service and the Ghana Police Service, adding �that was why we had to dispatch the police to protect the area�.
�We have to be there to maintain the peace; we have to be there to maintain orderliness. People decided to take the law into their own hands by rioting, using offensive weapons, setting places ablaze and so this is more than a demonstration. It has degenerated into rioting and arson and we needed to maintain orderliness,� he said.
According to the traders who are proving adamant on following the directive of AMA, if they heed to the directive of the authorities, they will not get the stores back after renovation; hence they will rebuild their own burnt structures.
A trader who spoke on the same platform expressed displeasure on how the police kept on using tear gas even though the rioting had stopped.
According to him, using force is not the solution because �we are aggrieved and thinking of a way to get back on our feet; since we have lost everything�.
�The place still remains a crime scene and we cannot let people go there. It is done everywhere and it is a normal practice. They want to take the law into their own hands and we are saying that we will not allow them. They attacked people, pelted the police with stones and under that trying moment, we had no option than to use tear gas and rubber bullets. We used a reasonable force and it worked for us. We cannot look on sheepishly and helplessly. We are a force tasked and mandated to maintain law and order. We arrested 10 people and we are holding them for rioting and arson...� he stated.
He however indicated that calmness has been restored at the scene and a heavy police presence is being maintained.
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