Security agencies need proper Coordination –Prof Asante advises

Chairman of the National Peace Council has blamed the shooting incident which took place during the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election on the lack of coordination on the part of security agencies.
While voting was ongoing at the La Bawaleshie Presbyterian Basic School 1 Polling Station, some masked armed men besieged the residence of the NDC candidate in the election, Delali Kwasi Brempong, a few metres away from the polling station, and shot some persons allegedly in-house.
The situation scared voters upon hearing gunshot sounds, and voting processes were halted for sometime until calm was restored.

Following the incident, many have questioned the authority and identity of the masked security men who besieged the NDC candidate’s residence.
Speaking over the weekend on Accra based TV3, Professor Asante said the incident could have been avoided if there was a proper coordination on the part of the security agencies ahead of the election.
“The coordination is of concern to me, the coordination of our security agents. Who is in charge of what? Domestic issues of this nature such as the election, did it really call for uncoordinated security presence?” the Peace Council Chairman questioned.
According to him, some of these issues of uncoordinated security agents and its subsequent consequences of violence are what trigger terror attacks.
Hence, he advised that security agencies in the country draw lessons from Boko Haram activities in neighboring Nigeria, and not engage in any activity that will breed such groups in Ghana.
“If it is not well coordinated, we are going to have problems on our hands.

“Let us take a cue from Boko Haram, because it did not just start as Boko Haram, and we should not create monsters to turn round to disturb us,” he advised.
He condemned the incident which occurred at La Bawaleshie and said it could have been avoided if not for failure on the part of the nation’s security apparatus to properly put things in order to ensure maximum security.
Professor Asante added that authorities must not delay in ensuring that perpetrators of the shooting incident are brought to book.
“It is something that was uncalled for, and it must be condemned, but not just condemned, the perpetrators must be brought to book and it must be fast.
“It is not something that should delay, because when these things were going on, there were police people around.
“Therefore it will be wrong for anybody to say we did not know who these people were, the videos are there and they should be able to get them and bring them to book,” he stressed.
He charged political leaders to also exercise decorum in their utterances in order to calm situations instead of inciting their followers against each other.
“We want our leaders to calm situation and not inflame passion. We need a voice of moderation, Ghana, must come first,” he added.