Sale Of Firearms Boom In Midst Of Recent Police Attacks

VARIOUS vantage locations at Ashalaja, Sowutuom, Ablekuma, Joma, Bortianor, Amasaman, New Weija, Gbawe, Ofankor, Oboum, Gomoa Fetteh, Kasoa, Langba and Buduburam in Greater Accra and Central Regions are gradually becoming hot destinations for the sale of sophisticated weapons, Today’s investigations have established.

Today has gathered that these firearms are brought into the country illegally from Burkina Faso, Mali, Libya through the Northern Region for sale in these communities at the time that the government through the Ministry of Defence has given warning to all persons in possession of illegal weapons in the country to handover to the police.

According to our investigations, the weapons are largely being patronised by land-guards and some vigilante groups such as the United Nations Land-guards Group, NATO Forces, Alkayida Forces and Russian Forces in these communities within the Ga South, Ga East, Ga West Municipalities, Greater Accra Region, and Kasoa communities in the Central Region.

The communities above Today discovered, were seriously being plagued by all manner of criminal activities, including armed robberies, minors in prostitution, gambling, cyber fraud and alcoholism.

Although it is an offence under the Arms and Ammunitions Act 1962 Section 118 (6) to posses firearms without licence, our sources alleged that many firearms dealers pay money in the form of “settlement fees” to some police officers, traditional and opinion leaders in these communities so as to escape arrest.

The sources revealed that the police, instead of arresting and prosecuting such illegal gun dealers in these areas, rather condone with them by collecting huge sums of monies from them as bribes.

Residents in these communities who spoke to Today on condition of anonymity lamented the kind of ordeal they go through everyday.

“If these land-guards are reported and arrested with court warrants they will be released by just a call from either a politician or a senior police officer at the police headquarters in Accra,” they alleged.

To this end, the residents called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to intervene in the matter by enhancing the security in these areas.

They also stressed the need for the government to institute an investigation into the alleged unprofessional conduct of many of the police officers in their various police stations.