Clashes between residents of Gbi Godenu and the Hohoe Police have claimed two lives while a third person is receiving treatment for injuries sustained after a Police vehicle knocked him down on Wednesday.
A visit to the Hohoe Regional Hospital by the Ghana News Agency gathered that the rider was taken to the theatre for medical attention for wounds he sustained from the accident, but two others were brought in dead, and their bodies deposited at the morgue awaiting autopsy.
The Gbi Godenu town in the Hohoe Municipality had been deserted following a misunderstanding between some Police officers and civilians over alleged contraband.
The alleged scuffle stemmed from a Police chase of a man riding a motorbike, who was suspected to be carrying some contraband consignment, who was knocked down by the driver of the Police vehicle and injured in the process of stopping him.
This incident incensed the residents, who mobilised to block the main Hohoe-Accra Road and met the Police force but two residents were hit by bullets, injuring them.
There were multiple reports with different narrations pertaining to the incident but Mr Andy Agbi, an eyewitness narrated to the GNA that a Police vehicle, which was chasing a motor rider, believed by the Police to be carrying contraband consignment failed to stop when flagged to do so.
He said the get-away-rider was then chased by the Police taskforce and knocked down into a gutter.
Mr Agbi said the injured rider was sent to the hospital by the town folks and later the Police vehicle caught fire, which he believed was an electrical fault.
However, the Police returned to the scene suspecting the incident to be an arsonist attack on their vehicle in retaliation.
He said the Police re-mobilised the area to show force by raiding the town, setting motorbikes ablaze on sight and looting shops amidst the indiscriminate firing of their weapons.
Mr. Agbi said he saw one of the victims, who was shot in the leg, rush to the hospital while he picked up information that one was also shot in the shoulder but later got information, that both had passed on.
When the GNA arrived at Gbi Wegbe, many of the shops were closed, with roads leading to Kpando from Hohoe and from Hohoe to Accra blocked.
It was observed that Schools at Gbi Wegbe as of 1330 hours were closed.
A male victim told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that he was dragged out of his shop by the Police and hit with the butt of a gun and he had to run for his life.
GNA saw bruises and a cut on his head, while his face and part of his body were swollen.
A female store owner at Godenu was wailing and shouting about how the Police had broken into her shop, destroyed her fridge and made away with some provisions.
A scuffle ensued and when Mr Daniel Noble Awume, Hohoe Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), arrived at Gbi Wegbe, he was greeted by angry youth, who would not listen to any explanation from the MCE.
The occurrence later forced the MCE to drive away from the scene.
The road between where the civilians had mounted a roadblock and that of the Police was about two kilometres apart with visible sizes of stones and pieces of cement blocks littering the space. There was blood stain on some part of the road.
An ash car with registration number GC 8249 11 had all its glasses smashed, while more than 45 motorbikes were set ablaze.
A swoop by the Police also led to the seizure of parcels of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp.
The Police also picked up close to 15 individuals, some of whom were in handcuffs, with some showing various forms of injuries.
Mr Patrick Dzandu, Assemblyman, Gbi-Wegbe Electoral Area, who tried calming the nerves of angry residents, who had blocked the main Hohoe-Accra Road failed to convince the residents to leave the street.
Mr John-Peter Amewu, Member of Parliament of Hohoe, asked the Police to avoid any further swoop action against the Gbi Godenu and Gbi Wegbe communities as that could elicit the loss of lives.
The Paramount Chief of the Gbi Traditional Area Togbega Gabusu VII has called for calm from Gbi-Godenu to Gbi–Wegbe and assured the youth of an amicable resolution to ensure peace in the Gbi State.
“I have spoken to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) so this issue will be resolved but I ask that you (youth) do not take the laws into your own hands,” he added.
The Police said they restored calm after a violent disturbance in which a Police patrol vehicle involved in an accident with a motorbike rider was set on fire by some community members.
They added that “two people lost their lives in the violence and the motor rider who sustained injury during the accident is currently receiving medical attention, 12 people have so far been arrested and one Bruni pistol retrieved.”
Residents of Wegbe and Godenu suffered from Police brutality resulting in the death of two of their members last year and some months ago, and that could be the underlying conflict between the people and the Police.
Source: GNA
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