Police Probe Shooting Of Ada Residents Following Songor Lagoon Protest
The Police in Ada in the Greater Accra Region have begun investigations into a shooting incident that saw some 14 people wounded following a protest over the ownership of the Songhor salt lagoon.
Some victims claim the wounds were caused by gunfire from police.
The police have denied the claims.
“Those who alleged that they received gunshot wounds, they were not from the police AK 47 assault rifle, they were from pump-action shotguns. We don’t use pump-action guns,” the Ada District Police Commander, DSP George Aboagye, said.
“We are now going to conduct in-depth investigations into the matter,” he added.
The protests are because some residents are unhappy about current arrangements to revive the salt lagoon.
In the course of protests, they clashed with police.
The 14 wounded have since been transferred to the Ridge Hospital in Accra for further treatment while 11 other residents connected to the disturbances who were arrested have been granted bail pending investigation.
DSP George Aboagye noted that police moved in after a driver operating a bulldozer was assaulted.
“They assaulted the driver beyond human imagination and broke the glasses on the bulldozer, and they asked the man to run away.”
DSP George Aboagye said two previous complaints had been made to police prompting their response.
Background
This latest incident comes on the back of a protest embarked upon by some indigenes of the Terkpebiawe Clan of Ada in January 2021.
The indigenes who claim to be the custodial owners of the Songor lagoon embarked on a demonstration exercise to protest against the mining lease granted to Electrochem Ghana Limited to mine salt in the area.
The mining lease according to the people of Ada did not take into consideration the economic plight of the locals whose sole livelihood depends on the Songor lagoon.
The locals claimed the lease will not only take away their source of livelihood but deprive them of their lands.
They at the time said they were ready to fight the lease to the latter should government fail to heed to their request.