Kojo Oppong Nkrumah
The government has condemned the treatment meted out to protesting law students by officers of the Ghana Police Service on Monday.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, the Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said, the confusion was “an embarrassing spectacle and it is unacceptable.”
“Generally, it is totally unacceptable that an otherwise peaceful demonstration by people who want access to legal education will end up in the scenes that we saw on television and social media.”
The law students were protesting to demand reforms to legal education in the country.
Beginning a march from the Ghana School of Law at Makola, they intended to march to the Jubilee House to present a petition to the President.
But police moved to disperse them around the Ako-Adjei Interchange in Accra with water cannons and rubber bullets.
Thirteen of the protesters were also arrested whilst others were injured,
Though the police have justified the use of force against the students, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah said the police should have exercised restraint.
“The government also believes that the police must always abide by their clarion call which is to protect and serve…We are of the view that the handling of such a situation must always be done in a manner that allows a balanced achievement of the objectives.”
–Citinewsroom