Police in Accra have intensified checks on roads and vantage points to ensure the limited movement of persons amidst the partial lockdown imposed on Accra and Kumasi to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country.
This comes on the back of persons flouting the ban on public gatherings and the restriction of movement directive by the President, with some revellers, for instance, having a field day at some beaches in Accra on Easter Sunday.
ACP Kwesi Ofori, the Accra Regional Police Director of Operations on Eyewitness News indicated that the Police will be prosecuting more people who are picked up for going contrary to the President’s directives.
“This is a grand security operation for safety purposes and to also enforce safety measures for the general welfare and health of our people. But here we are where the pubic component has some difficulty in accepting the fact that the exercise is good for us as a people. And that is why you are noticing some arrests. The security forces are making sure that they do everything possible to create a desirable atmosphere in the city and outlying areas. One thing is we’re going to use arrests and prosecution as one of our major tools to make sure that people adhere to the orders,” he said.
He continued by saying that they would extend their operations wider to see to it that no one escapes with flouting the directives.
He noted, “Yesterday, we carried out a major exercise, making sure that we ward off everybody and up to date we’ve been able to hold our position and up till now, no one is getting to the beaches on merrymaking business whatsoever. And I can assure you that we’ll extend the operation to other areas that we have challenges to make sure that we sanitize the entire system and make sure that people comply. It is our responsibility to make sure people comply. We are not going to take any flimsy excuses from people. It is a state operation and the state is interested. We the security operatives are doing this at the peril of our lives that our people sustain their lives and make sure that they move in peace and security.”
Persons arrested for violating directives
The Ghana Police Service has disclosed that some 406 persons have been arrested for violating the partial lockdown directive and the ban on public gatherings.
This was disclosed by ACP Lydia Donkor, Head of Legal and Prosecution, Accra Regional Police Command on Tuesday, April 14, 2020, at a press briefing organised by the Ministry of Information.
Below is the regional breakdown of the arrests as highlighted by ACP Lydia Donkor:
- Greater Accra Region – 161
- Ashanti Region – 70
- Volta Region – 67
- Western Region – 8
- Eastern Region – 6
- Tema Region – 31
- Bono Region – 20
- Northern Region – 9
- Central Region – 24
- North East Region – 1
- Upper East Region – 8
- Upper West Region – 2
- Western North Region – 8
