IMANI Africa President, Franklin Cudjoe feels the focus on the alleged failed plot to topple the government should have been on the proliferation of small arms.
Speaking on The Big Issue, Mr. Cudjoe, who had doubts about the reports of such a plot said the case could have been handled in a better way.
“In this case where the weapons would fall into the category of the small arms and knowing how small arms proliferation are in this country, I would have thought that maybe we should take our time before we pronounced that they were actually going to stage a coup…I thought that the issue rather should be focused on the proliferation of arms.”
A joint security operation on September 20 led to the arrest of three persons; Dr. Frederick Yao Mac-Palm, Ezor Kafui and Bright Allan Debrah Ofosu after a raid on the Citadel Hospital in Alajo, which Dr. Mac-Palm manages.
Security personnel also discovered five locally manufactured handguns, a foreign handgun, three locally manufactured handgun barrels, three smoke grenades, 22 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and some AK-47 rounds.
The three were arraigned and charged with conspiracy to manufacture arms and ammunition without lawful authority.
One senior military officer, Colonel Samuel Kojo Gamelii, and a civilian employee of the Ghana Armed Forces, Geshong Akpa, were also arraigned before an Accra district court and charged with possession of explosives, firearms and ammunition without lawful excuse.
In Ghana, ninety percent of crime scene arms are known to be locally manufactured.
The National Commission on Small Arms and Light weapons had indicated that there are about 2.3 million unlicensed arms in circulation in the country.
