Police in the Ashanti Region arrested eight students of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) during a clash between two halls of the university at the LUV Fm’s ‘Old Skuul Reunion’ programme in Kumasi on Saturday.
The entertainment programme, which seeks to make people reminisce their secondary school days, ended with a stand-off between students of University Hall popularly known as Katanga and Unity Hall aka Conti-Power, at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium.
In a statement signed by the Regional Police Commander, COP Ken Yeboah, the police said the students pelted stones at each other, causing damage to a number of vehicles, aside blocking some roads which brought activities to a standstill.
According to the statement, it took the timely intervention of officers from the patrol unit to bring the situation under control. The police officers later escorted some of the students to the campus of the university.
The statement explained that the arrestees were taken to the Asokwa Divisional Police Command where caution statements were taken from them before releasing them on police enquiry bail on the same day.
It said the suspects were handed over to the security coordinator of the university, Jake Kudjo Semahia, to report to the police at a later date.
Police Brutality
Meanwhile, the regional command has tasked the Police Intelligence and Professional Standards Unit (PIPS) in the region to look into the conduct of officers who were captured in a video footage brutalizing some of the students during the arrest.
“The command, after watching the video, sees the act of these personnel as unprofessional and condemns it in no uncertain terms and has taken a serious view about it,” the statement added.
COP Ken Yeboah assured the public of his preparedness to act on the report immediately it is submitted to him, whiles appealing to individuals who fell victim to contact the command with any information.
From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi