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US declares Accra “critical threat location for crime”

Saturday, November 07, 2020 at 3:16 PM by Aba Afful

- Ghana’s capital of Accra has been declared a red zone for crime.

- The U.S. State Department revealed this in its annual crime report.

- So far, the IGP has deployed over 60,000 security officers ahead of the elections.

Cases of crime keep rising across the country. It gets more anxious when Ghana is just days to the general elections of 2020. An extensive crime overview report by the State Department of the U.S. defined Accra as a “critical threat location for crime”.

Already, hundreds of crime cases, including highway robberies and gun attacks have been reported to the police crime office. The country is currently mourning the loss of a lawmaker for the Mfantseman Constituency - Ekow Quansah Hayford - who got shot in cold blood by armed robbers.

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Before this attack, various reports of assault have been reported to the Police Crime Department than ever before. Aside from the city of Accra, the U.S. State Department named six other regions of Bono and Bono East, North East, Northern, Savannah and Upper East regions.

US declares Accra “critical threat location for crime”
Source: UGC

According to the U.S. State Department report, over 500 persons die every year to violent crimes. Figures from the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) also shows that 1.2 million unregistered guns are in circulation across the country.

Former president, John Dramani Mahama, has placed the blame on President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo for this scourge in armed robbery cases. He alleges that; “arms, ammunition and uniforms for state security have been given to vigilante groups”.

As Ghanaians head to the polls on December 7, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) has deployed exactly 62,794 security officers to all places in the country prone to violence. This is to ensure peace and stability in what has been described as a knife-edged election between the incumbent president, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo and his contender, John Dramani Mahama.