Officers from the Headquarters of the Ghana Police Service have arrested and detained two notorious land-guards, One Nigerian and a Togolese, for allegedly beating, attacking, and terrorizing workers of persons who lawfully and legally bought parcels of land from Woodfield Development Company Limited at Chrematinville located in Borteyman, a suburb of Accra.
The unpleasant incident occurred on Wednesday morning, September 25, 2024, when the two notorious land guards allegedly hired from Togo and Nigeria stormed Chrematinville in an attempt to prevent workers from continuing with the building projects of the clients of the company.
During the confrontation, police officers were called to the scene and they managed to subdue the two suspects, preventing further violence and potential harm to the workers working on the land in question.
The arrest of the two suspected landguards brings hope to the workers in the area, who have long been plagued by land grabbing incidents.
When they were arrested at the site, they were sent to the Property Fraud Unit at the Ghana Police Service Headquarters in Accra for their caution statements to be taken.
Later, the two were detained in police custody, waiting for the criminal charges to be preferred against them. The two notorious landguards would be processed before the law court.
Following their arrest, drama unfolded when the Nigerian suspect was heard crying in a recording audio begging for him to be released from police custody under the condition of being a poor person who had been secretly lured by some big men to commit attack on the workers.
Investigations revealed that the military officers of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) in their uniforms were allegedly aiding the land guards in their attempt to forcefully take possession of the land in question.
Further investigation has uncovered that the soldiers and landguards involved in the dispute were allegedly hired by Raimmy, whose photo has been included as evidence.
Raimmy is reportedly acting on behalf of Sammy, owner of Jila4Real Estate, who claims ownership of the contested land parcels.
Raimmy was accused of sending soldiers and land guards to the land, allegedly to intimidate and assault workers.
The armed personnel reportedly lined up the workers to forcibly stop them from working on the land.
The armed thugs have lined up the workers at the site.
Speaking in an interview with some journalists in Accra, the Security Coordinator of Woodfields Development Company Limited, Mr Tenkorang Kingsley confirmed the incident.
He expressed worry about the misconduct of the owner of Jila4Real Estate, Sammy to hire the services of both military officers and land guards to beat, attack, terrorize, and molest the workers.
He noted that “Since last week Thursday, September 19, 2024, the owner of Jila4Real Estate has brought some soldiers who were led by these two notorious land guards from Togo and Nigeria to the land the company has sold to its clients.
According to him, armed soldiers and these
land guards patrolled the land and started beating, molesting, and harassing the workers of the clients of Woodfields Development Company Limited.
“So fortunately, we have officially reported the incident to the Ghana Police Service at the Headquarters who came to arrest the two land guards on Wednesday, September 25, 2024. These two thugs have been leading the soldiers to visit the severe attacks on the workers. They were arrested by police before the soldiers who are providing security for them came to the site,” Mr Kingsley reaffirmed to the journalists.
He lamented that they could not fathom these soldiers of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), the reputable state military organization of Ghana would be assigned to go to the legally, genuinely, and lawfully bought land to beat and visit attacks on the workers.
He called on the leadership of the Ghana Armed Forces to launch an investigation into the matter.
“How dare someone hire military officers in uniforms to provide security for the notorious land guards to visit attacks of the workers working on the land the clients have bought from Woodfields Development Company Limited,” he asked.
According to him, the company seems to
believe that using the soldiers to lawfully protect the security of the land for individuals who have been already restricted or restrained by the Appeal Court not to enter into that land in question was a complete breach of the laws.
He further called on the National Security Minister, Interior Minister, Inspector General of Police (IGP), and other state security regulatory agencies to call the soldiers, land guards and owner of Jila4Real Estate to order for the peace to prevail in the area.
Source: Soireenews