Security Analyst Advises Police To Prepare For More Protests As Elections Draw Near
- Adib Saani, a security analyst, has warned that the Ghana Police Service must enhance how it handles protests as the 2024 election draws near
- He said with tensions very high, it was very likely that there are going to be even more protests in the coming months
- He also warned those calling for a Kenyan-style demonstration to disabuse their minds of such fantasies
Security Analyst Adib Saani has warned the Ghana Police Service to prepare for more protests as the 2024 general elections draw near.
His comment was in reaction to the recent ReOccupyJulorbiHouse demonstration organised by Democracy Hub to call on the government to act swiftly against the illegal mining menace.
Source: UGC
The protest had led to the arrest of over 50 protesters, who have since been remanded into police custody for two weeks by an Accra Circuit Court.
While some have praised the police for their professionalism during the protest, many more have criticised the Police Service for their ‘unlawful’ arrests and detention of the protesters, citing several fundamental human rights infringements.
Adib Saani, who agrees with some of the sentiments shared by critics of the Ghana Police Service, told YEN.com.gh that the police must prepare to handle even larger crowds as the elections draw nearer.
He noted that it is counterproductive for either the protesters or the police to breach agreed-upon protocols on the protest grounds and incite trouble during a protest.
“I mean, it's within their right to protest. There's absolutely nothing intrinsically wrong with that. But, of course, it has to be done with recourse to the law.
“When you agree with the police in principle on the modalities, the routes you are going to use, when you are going to have it and all that, and you get to the ground and change, either from the side of the protesters or the police, it creates a bit of a problem.
“So the only threat I see is some of these protests becoming violent and probably someone dying as a result.
“And I think that would be cataclysmic to the security of the state as we get towards the elections, which is proving to be a very decisive one, because that is what is going to prove whether we have arrived as a fully -fledged, consolidated democracy or we are still experimenting.
“But the tensions are high, and these demonstrations would continue,” he stated.
Adib Saani says no to Kenyan-style protest
Adib Saani also warned that protesters who may fantasise about holding a Kenyan-style protest in the country should disabuse themselves of that notion.
He stated that just as the Kenyan protest caused some protesters to lose their lives and the destruction of public property, the same could happen in Ghana.
“ I see some who draw inspiration from other countries, such as Kenya, and where even calling for a Kenyan -like demonstration in Ghana, which I think was unfortunate because we wouldn't want a situation where public property would be destroyed and people losing their lives.
“And so that shouldn't be countenanced whatsoever. So it is up to the security services to put their act together and to prepare for more of these protests,” he advised.
Police accused of conducting unlawful arrests
YEN.com.gh reported that Democracy Hub has accused the Ghana Police Service of unlawfully arresting and detaining 46 #OccupyJulorbiHouse protesters.
Democracy Hub disclosed that the police have prevented lawyers from reaching arrested protesters and have refused to reveal their whereabouts.
Some X users have described the police's actions as kidnapping and have demanded the immediate release of protesters.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
