NO MILITANT GROUP IN WESTERN REGION — POLICE (MIRROR PAGE 27, OCT 30, 2010,

From Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu,
Sekondi

The Western Regional Police Command has rebutted reports of an emerging militant group in the Western Region and assured the public that it had proactive measures in place to deal with such situations.
It said the police were on the ground on daily basis with intelligence on the ground in the communities and would, therefore, not be taken by surprise.
This follows reports that a group calling itself Cape Militia had emerged at Cape Three Points in the region, threatening mayhem if residents did not benefit from the oil revenues.
Speaking to The Mirror in Sekondi, the Western Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Hamidu Mahama, assured the nation that police intelligence was all over the districts and communities along the coast.
“We are always in touch with the people at the community level and the story reported by an Accra-based newspaper is not true,” he said.
“Our risk assessment covered all those areas even before the day of the first oil was announced and we are ready and the country should be rest assured,” he said.
He urged the media to take time to clear certain issues with the security agencies before going public in order not to send wrong signals to members of the larger community in the country and the world as a whole.
Alhaji Hamidu said the police was aware that peace was a priceless commodity and they would do everything to protect it.
Meanwhile, some chiefs in the affected communities have expressed shock at the story, describing it as baseless and calculated to discredit the people of the area.
“And we do not think that we will wait for an armed group to emerge in our communities and we will not report it to the law enforcement agencies.
“If we have issue with the oil revenue, which is yet to come or be declared, we will engage the state in a dialogue but not arm conflict,” they said.
Nana Kwesi Agyeman, chief of Lower Dixcove, said as a leader of the community, he would ensure that peace prevailed in the area.
The chief of Cape Three Points, Nana Akye-Kesse, expressed shock and questioned the motive for the publication.