Residents of Nmai Dzorn and Adjiringano in the Adenta Municipality of the Greater Accra Region are threatening to defend themselves if the Ghana Police Service and other security agencies continue to allow activities of land guards to fester in the area.
According to the residents, they have lived in constant fear due to persistent threats of land guards.
They are claiming that the land guards are allegedly being used by an estate developer who has been harassing residents, demolishing buildings and forcefully taking over lands and property of the individuals with impunity.
The residents claimed they filed complaints to the Ghana Police Service but the thugs appear to be unrelenting.
According to them, the land guards are armed with sophisticated weapons and they always invade properties, assault residents and in some cases demolish property without any authorisation.
They claimed that gun shots are frequent in the area and not even the police are able to stem the tide.
Niibi Ofori Quaye, Operations Manager of Villa Posillipo Ghana Limited, the company that says it has authorisation by the Gborbu Wulomo-Shitse to overlook and protect lands at Santeo and the Borteman (Trasaco) enclave, said for over two years now, the people of the area had been subjected to harassment by the land guards.
He noted that most of the residents had become helpless and hapless because several complaints to the police had yielded no results, and said the people are becoming emboldened to defend their property against the hoodlums.
He said “many victims have reported some of these cases to the police administration but nothing seems to be done and so these thugs think that there is no law in the country,” adding “the lack of official action is giving them some false sense that they can harass people and drive them out of their lands with impunity.”
He added that “all these things are making the residents to have the impression that they could also take up arms and fight these hoodlums. This is an indication to the security agencies that if they continue to sit unconcerned, the people will fight back for their properties and the consequences would be dire for the country.”