From Fred Duodu, Ho (k.duodu@yahoo.com)
Five Togolese who managed to secure the new voters’ Identification card at Aflao in the Ketu South Municipality of the Volta Region have been arrested.
The five were arrested by operatives of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) along the Aflao beach when they attempted to illegally exit Ghana.
DGN online sources in the area indicate that the five were arrested last Saturday, July 11, 2020 and are currently being prepared for court by the Ghana Police Service in Aflao.
Confirming the incident, the Public Relations Officer of the GIS in the Volta Region, Assistant Inspector Felix Klu-Adjei noted the suspects were all young men in their 20s and 30s. He identified them as Dayo Yao, 33; Gatago Kudjo, 32; Quist Mawutor, 26; Desouza Theodore, 29 and Gatogo Kudjovi.
He said after arrest by a patrol team, the five admitted to being Togolese nationals when interrogated.
They also admitted to registering for the new voters’ card at one of the registration centres in Aflao.
The issue of Togolese registering for Ghana’s Voters ID and subsequently partaking in elections has become a controversial issue, especially during elections years.
Whereas the governing NPP have always raised concerns of the phenomenon, the opposition NDC and residents in the Volta region which shares boundaries and ties with Togo continue to discount it and describe such persons as Ghanaians only living on the other side of the border line.
Togolese who have been arrested in the past for illegally possessing Ghanaian Voters’ cards have usually claimed, they got the cards not for electoral purposes, but to assess some social interventions in Ghana such as the Heath Insurance Scheme, Free Education among others as well as facilitate easy movement in and out of Ghana reasons that are not tenable.
Assistant Inspector Klu-Adjei noted that the five are being screened and handed back to the Police for further action. He noted that one of them had in his possession a Togolese voters’ ID card which confirms the admission of guilt by the suspects upon interrogation.
A statement issued by the GIS is warning non-Ghanaians against entering the country illegally.
It said, “The Ghana Immigration Service wishes to once again remind all non-Ghanaians to desist from entering and leaving the country through unapproved routes. It is an offence under the laws of Ghana to use illegitimate means to enter or exit the country.”
Mr. Klu-Adjei also appealed to Ghanaians to also stop aiding non-Ghanaians in crossing into the country illegally as it was a dangerous act that could destabilise the country.
He said, “Who knows who these foreigners are and the threat they pose? You may think you are being a good Samaritan, but that foreigner could be an armed robber or a terrorist. Who knows?”