The Brong Ahafo Regional Police Command has defended its decision to withdraw it’s personnel from Kwapong, the town where a fetish priest, suspected to have killed a resident was lynched while in Police custody.
An angry mob in the area attacked the Kwapong Police Station and destroyed properties in their attempt to release the fetish priest from the cell.
Speaking to Citi News, the Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Police Commander ACP Patrick Adusei Sarpong said Kwapong has become increasingly unsafe for their officers hence withdrawing them.
“Looking at this situation, we can’t allow our men to continue to be there, their lives are even in danger, the Police station where they are supposed to work have also been destroyed, where else will they work? So we said let’s withdraw and move them to another place until they get the Police station to work.”
He explained that “there are more Police stations that are clamoring for personnel so if you get them and you don’t want them to work, we better put them at other places where the people are prepared to utilize them.”
Meanwhile, a Deputy Interior Minister James Agalga has also backed the actions of the Police. Mr Agalga argues that even though the residents need to be checked in the midst of the confusion, the Police need to withdraw so that the situation does not degenerate further.
“Burning a suspect alive in a process, that action is despicable and it needs to be condemned. Having said that, the Police have been able to restore calm in the area, but it became necessary for them to evacuate their men from Kwapong because it was very clear that the security of the service men cannot be guaranteed.
It is our hope that once calm and normalcy return to the place, the Police will revisit their decision to evacuate the area,” he added.
