Imoro Abdul Razak and Alhassan Rashid
Two persons linked to the attack on health officers at Damongo District Hospital— Imoro Abdul Razak, 21, and Alhassan Rashid, 20, — have been remanded into prisons custody by the Bole District Court to reappear on October 12, 2016.
The suspects were arrested by the Damongo Police Tuesday dawn at their hideout upon a tip-off in the area.
The Damongo District Commander, ASP Seidu Wemah, who confirmed the arrest to DAILY GUIDE, said the suspects were arraigned before court Wednesday.
According to him, the suspects were charged with stealing and assault, but they pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Drama unfolded at the court premises when family members of the suspects attacked and verbally abused persons who tried taking pictures of them.
The Damongo Hospital in the West Gonja District in the Northern Region has been shut down since Sunday due to attacks on nurses by some residents in the area.
The facility takes care of over 2,000 patients in the district as well as other districts and surrounding communities in the area.
Information available indicates that the facility has been experiencing some theft-related issues for some time now. On Sunday, two motorbikes belonging to the staff of the hospital were stolen, prompting them to lodge a complaint to the police, and some persons were arrested in the process.
According to reports, two persons who were arrested by the police were later granted bail; the arrest which angered some youth in the area to launch an attack on the facility and in the process injuring some nurses.
The angry youth allegedly threatened the staff of the facility; a situation which forced them to lay down their tools to save their lives.
The authorities of the facility temporarily shut down the place and discharged all patients in the hospital.
A patient who spoke to DAILY GUIDE on condition of anonymity said, “It’s unfortunate that this is happening but we have no choice than to go home hoping that they would reopen the place again but those who have money can still go to private clinics here.”
The leader of the nurses group at the facility, Justices Parmaak, told DAILY GUIDE that “we are grateful to the police for a good job done by arresting the suspects.”
He prayed for justice to prevail, adding that the court should punish the suspects to serve as deterrents to others in the area “because the incident that happened here makes us feel unsafe.”
From Eric Kombat, Damongo