By Augustine Ehikioya
To prevent breakdown of law and order, the Ghana Police Service has put in place security arrangement for ‘Justice 4 Ghana” demonstration.
The demonstration was billed for Wednesday, December 8, 2021.
This was contained in a statement by the Director-General, Public Affairs Directorate, Police Headquarters, ACP Kwesi Ofori, and made available to Security Watch Africa (SWA)
The statement said “The Police Administration wishes to bring to the attention of the general public that it has put in place adequate security measures for a planned demonstration by the “Justice 4 Ghana” group slated for Wednesday, December 8, 2021.
“The leadership of the demonstrators had indicated their intention to congregate at the Efua Sutherland park and move to the Parliament House to present their petition.
“However, earlier checks conducted by Police at both locations revealed that the management of these venues had not been notified,” it said.
The statement added “The Police, therefore, took the initiative and secured the necessary approvals on their behalf to enable the demonstrators to congregate at the park and thereafter present their petition to Parliament.
“At a previous pre-demonstration meeting, the group also insisted on picketing at the Parliament House till their grievances were addressed. Attempts by the Police to get the leadership of the group to change their picketing plan was unsuccessful.
“As a result, the Police applied to the courts to prevent the planned perpetual picketing at the Parliament House. This was necessary to safeguard the security and public health of Members of Parliament, the general public and the demonstrators themselves.”
The Picketing plan, the statement said, has been stopped by the court.
“The High Court presided over by Her Ladyship, Lydia Osel Marfo (Mrs), has therefore restrained the demonstrators from “picketing on the premises or anywhere around the premises of the Parliament House indefinitely.”
“Demonstrators should rest assured that the Police shall provide adequate security to enable them to exercise their democratic right to protest.
The Police Administration, according to the statement, also entreated all protestors to exercise their rights within the law to ensure an incident-free march.
The protest held as planned but the Police prevented protesters from congregating around the Parliament House.