Dr. George Akuffo Dampare
RESIDENTS OF Borteyman, Adjiringanor and Nmai Dzorn in the Adenta Municipality of the Greater Accra Region, are full of praise for the Inspector General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, for how he has tackled the menace of landguards since he assumed office.
According to the residents, on January 28, 2022, they issued a statement and subsequently petitioned the IGP about how they were being attacked by landguards.
The petition, they said, was well received by the IGP and acted on same with swift response through the Anti-Languards Division of the Ghana Police Service.
“It is trite knowledge that the issue regarding landguards and their activities within these areas has been on the ascendancy in recent times leaving residents restless and in fear for their lives. This situation pushed the residents to petition the Inspector General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, to take immediate steps in dealing with the matter.
“The IGP, upon receipt of the petition, acted swiftly through the Anti-Landguards Division of the Ghana Police Service,” a statement issued by the residents said.
They continued that such intervention cut down on the attacks, which were going from bad to worse, adding that there were daily reports of landguards brutalising land owners and property developers unprovoked, and in many instances, robbery.
The residents further revealed that the IGP’s relentless efforts at clamping down the activities of the hoodlums, who used brute force to intimidate property owners, have since reduced considerably.
One resident who spoke on grounds of anonymity indicated that, the landguards were often in the company of some developers who were in the business of illegally taking lands from legally-acquired owners, with assault.
The Land Act 2020 prescribes a minimum five-year jail term and a maximum 15-year sentence for persons acting as landguards. Those who engage the services of same in Ghana also fall foul of the law.
The deployment of the Anti Land Guard Unit by the Ghana Police Service, among others, is one of the drastic measures employed to effectively end the activities of landguards in Accra.
“We wish to encourage the IGP and the Anti-Landguards Division of the Ghana Police Service to continue to fight this menace of landguards in the whole of the Greater Accra Region,” the statement stressed.