Land Guards Extorting Monies From Residents of Agape To Prevent Demolishing

A group of land guards in Agape, a suburb of Accra, have demanded monies from residents to protect them from the demolishing of their buildings by the Ga East District Assembly.

This disclosure was made by a serial caller and a resident of the area, Dr. Asemfofro during an interview with the host of ‘Me Man Nti’, Adakabre Frimpong Manso on NEAT 100.9Fm while addressing threats being posed by armed robbers in the Agape and Ablekuma environs.

But according to Dr. Asemfofro, those terrorizing the community are not armed robbers but land guards whose mode of operation is akin to that of the mafia in Italy, to who protection monies have to be paid or risk being harassed.

“…they deal in hard drugs and perpetuate violence against residents…they might attack me because of what am saying but someone definitely has to speak out,” he said.

This disclosure comes on the heels of a publication that residents of Agape have worries about a directive issued by a group calling itself Armed Robbers Association (ARA).

The ARA gave the community a deadline of December 30, 2013 to pay not less than GH¢500 per household to avoid incurring its wrath.

However, Dr. Asemfofro claims no armed robber has terrorized the neighborhood but rather, land guards have taken the laws in to their own hands to impose all sorts of taxes on residents and commercial drivers plying the area.

“…who are you to talk about all these, we now live in fear. This thing goes on from Agape down through to the Pentecost Junction, and since there is no police presence in the area, they get away with everything,” he asserted.

Nonetheless, DCOP Christian Tettey Nyahonu has described the fears being expressed by the residents as belated because in his view, the threats were issued in the latter part of last year and the Greater Accra police Command took steps to “ensure that the place is safe with our patrol, our snap checks and our intelligence”.

The Greater Accra Police Commander also added that the police service has improved police visibility in the area and was therefore ready to combat the menace of armed robbery; however, residents claim the terrorists are not armed robbers as being alleged by the police.

They also called for the intervention of the Inspector General of Police to stop the extortion and exploitation being meted out to Ghanaians because it now seem as though only the rich who can pay for protection are safe in Agape.