Some of the burnt buses
Less than a week after a group of people purporting to push a so-called Western Togoland agenda caused trouble in the Volta Region raising security concerns, they have struck once again.
Yesterday, deep in the night, they burnt down two State Transport Corporation (STC) mini buses in the Volta Regional capital, Ho, as part of their effort to ‘secede’ from Ghana. And, according to the Minister of Information, the matter should be treated as criminal and not political.
They engaged in riots, attacking police stations and blocking vehicular movements on busy highways close to Juapong on the Accra-Ho highway as well as the Accra Aflao highway.
A joint military and police operation later rid the road of the secessionists’ blockade, resulting in the arrest of 31 persons who were immediately flown via helicopter to Accra and put before a Circuit Court on Monday where they were remanded by the court.
Fresh Attacks
Just as normalcy was being restored, the groups, namely the Homeland Study Group Foundation (HSGF), the Western Togoland Restoration Front (WTRF) and the Western Togoland Assembly (WTA) that claimed to have adopted different strategies but are purporting to fight for a common goal, entered the STC yard in Ho to cause carnage.
How it Happened
Mathias Gagodo, the Security Officer of the STC Bus Terminal which shares a wall with the popular Civic Centre Shopping Mall in Ho, narrated that at about 2:00 a.m., two men jumped over the wall from the urinal area of the terminal.
The men who were wielding guns assaulted a driver and forced him to lie face down at gunpoint.
He said the hoodlums requested the office keys which were not in his possession and added that he was pinned down by one of the men with a gun while the other set one of the buses ablaze.
On seeing the fire, other drivers who were sleeping in their buses and resting rooms started to run helter-skelter to save their lives and in the process the security man said he also managed to escape to go and file a complaint at the police station.
A driver of the burnt down bus, David Acheampong, narrated that he was sleeping in the bus when the criminals swooped on them.
He said they hit him with the butt of the gun and asked him to get out of the bus. He said his drivers’ licence, money and other personal effects had all been lost in the inferno.
Security Conscious
A security officer of the Total Filling Station opposite the STC Yard revealed that he saw the fire some minutes after 2:00 a.m. and so took out his phone to call the fire service whilst he attempted to cross the street to ascertain what was happening.
However, before he could speak to the receiver on the phone, he said some men came and collected the phone from him and warned him to keep off if he cherished his life.
The phone, which was initially put off by the hoodlums, was switched on later and when he answered the call, he was told by the person on the phone to come to Awudome (not sure whether it is Awudome in Accra or Volta) for his phone if he needed it.
Another eyewitness also said his phone was collected near the yard, but it did not occur to him there was an ‘operation’ by the hoodlums at the STC yard and thought it was a phone-snatching incident till the next morning when news broke that the ‘secessionists’ had struck again.
This narration of the security office at the filling station corroborates suspicion that the separatists have some security training and were stationed at strategic positions to be on the lookout for those perpetrating the attack.
Another driver said although they initially saw two attackers, they later realized there were several others who joined in assaulting them.
Yard Location
The STC yard is about 100 metres from Togbe Afede’s Asogli Palace and about 1000 metres from the Ho Municipal Police Station, the Ghana Commercial Bank, Fidelity Bank and the NIB Bank, all of which have security presence.
It is also interesting to note that the STC yard is close to Anlokordzi, a notorious slum in Ho, which is a hideout of criminals in the municipality.
Traumatized Drivers
About 10 drivers and the security man who were attacked have said they are traumatized.
Confirming the incident, the Station Manager for STC in Ho, Richard Ahiafor, said “as it is now the drivers are traumatized. Some of them were attacked. They cannot drive today until further notice. Today, there is no service from Ho to Accra until we receive directives from our superiors in Accra.”
Heightened Security
The Municipal Chief Executive, Prosper Pi-Bansah, said security had been heightened in the Ho municipality following the attacks and gave an assurance that security would be further heightened to ensure the situation does not recur.
From Fred Duodu, Ho