Following the current trend of armed robbery in the country, the interior Minister, Mr. Cletus Avoka has declared war on armed robbers anywhere in the country and has inspired the Police to shoot them if possible, �kill them, if that is the only way to save yourself.�. According to Mr. Avoka, the first law of nature is self preservation and for that reason, he has encouraged the Police to value their lives and that of the good citizens of Ghana. He stated, �the police don�t have to spare them if they are fired at.
Shoot them dead if they try to kill you because you are trying to protect lives and properties of citizens.He said, although he values the concerns of the human right institution, the law of self defence is also enshrined in our law books and the lives of our security personnel is also valuable to this nation. We have to draw a line somewhere, either the lives of the robbers or the lives of our security personnel. He made it clear that he does not condone a policy of shoot to kill, but if one�s life is at risk, he or she can apply the law of self defence, likewise a police officer must not lose his or life to an armed robber. �Shoot him if he tries to kill you because an armed robber is not licensed to kill.� He added that it is painful to suffer and acquire property only for an armed robber to use just a day to come and kill you and take away your property.
The minister was speaking on Peace FM�s morning show �kokrokoo� in reaction to a statement he made yesterday during the inauguration of a police council to the effect that the police should not spare the lives of armed robbers if theirs is at risk. Whilst speaking on the show, a report came in from our correspondent, Teacher Korsah in Wassa Bekwai, that a police officer had been murdered. The minister cited that as a typical example saying �if the policeman had shot the robbers, he wouldn�t have lost his life.
<<Print>>