IGP, Christian Tetteh Yohuno
The days of the Special Operations Team of the Ghana Police Service appears to be numbered as some interest groups are said to have demanded their withdrawal from Tamale.
The team was deployed by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Christian Tetteh Yohuno, to arrest the heightened incidence of drug abuse and crime.
While some stakeholders in the Northern Regional capital have welcomed the work of the team led by DSP Abdul Jalil, others are not enthused.
Some prominent politicians are reported to have written to the IGP to withdraw the team from the region.
The development has triggered concern among some residents in Tamale, who have interpreted the move as political interference.
Not happy about the development, the Dagbamba Youth Association (DAYA) has written to the IGP demanding the team be allowed to continue its work.
“We represent a generation that has suffered greatly under the menace of illicit drug abuse, particularly the devastating tramadol epidemic, and it is in this spirit that we rise with one voice to strongly condemn, in the most unequivocal terms, the shameful and self-serving actions of certain people who have allegedly written to you seeking the withdrawal of the Black Maria Special Operations Team from Dagbon,” the association disclosed.
They pointed at the devastating effects of drug abuse by a section of youth in Dagbon as the reason they want the team referred to the Black Maria Special Operations Team to stay put.
“Families have been torn apart, academic futures have been shattered, and the social fabric of our beloved Dagbon has been severely eroded. “It was therefore with great relief, hope, and gratitude that we welcomed the deployment of the Black Maria Special Operations Team; a bold intervention from Inspector General of Police (IGP) that signaled that the government had heard our cries and was committed to safeguarding the future of our youth. Since the commencement of operations by the Black Maria team, we have witnessed a marked improvement in security, a reduction in the open peddling of illicit drugs, and a renewed sense of safety and hope among our communities,” the association stated.
The individuals, according to the association, “do not speak for the people of Dagbon. They do not speak for the youth of Dagbon. They speak only for themselves — and for the criminal network whose illegal activities are now being disrupted by the operations of this team,” the association stated in its open letter to the IGP and signed by its General Secretary, Alhaji Jagbo Baako.