Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mr Kwasi Ofori, Accra Regional Operations Commander, Ghana Police Service, on Thursday said the demonstration being organized by supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was unlawful.He said the NDC did not seek permission from the Police, as such, they had breached “the Public Order Act 491 which states that prior notice and permission should be sought from the Police before embarking on any form of demonstration”.
Again, he said it was unlawful for the NDC supporters to take over the streets, destroy property and deprive citizens of peace of mind.
“You can’t just take over the streets, burn tyres, destroy billboards and cause mayhem. We are calling on the leadership of NDC to call their people to order and we are sending a strong warning to the demonstrators that we will not allow them do anything they want,” he said.
The ACP assured that the security agencies (Police and Military) were on top of their game and would not sit idle for the demonstrators to take the law into their own hands.
In the early hours of Thursday, a crowd of NDC supporters marched to the Electoral Commission Headquarters in Accra to protest against the 2020 General Election results.
Protesters however clashed with members of the security agencies who were determined to keep them at bay, leading to the burning of tyres and stone throwing whilst others tried to force their way through the barricade.
Most of them kept chanting, “No Mahama, No Peace”, “No Mahama, No President” while others had placards with inscriptions such as “Jean Mensah, Ladies Don’t Steal.”
The Police and Military responded by spraying water, tear gas and firing rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. Some protesters were arrested.