Wednesday 7 January 2015

Boko Haram berths in Ghana: Ghana gets its version of Boko Haram

Boko Haram berths in Ghana: Ghana gets its version of Boko Haram

A vigilante Muslim group in Ghana has named itself after Nigeria’s terrorist group - Boko Haram. The Ghanaian Boko Haram tortured a young woman for buying food from a Christian. According to Starrfmonline’s investigations, the modus operandi of the Ghanaian Boko Haram is similar to that of the Nigeria Islamic terrorists.

In a recent disturbing video, which was taken with a mobile phone, a group of about eight young men were seen flogging a helpless lady on her butt and back on a bench in the open with a grown woman standing in the background watching. The men revelled in her agony as she wails and begs for mercy.

Ghanaian Police has however refuted the claim that the group is an offshoot of the Nigeria Boko Haram. The police have since arrested about 9 suspects of the Islamic group operating in Akyem Ofoase Zongo in the Akyemanso District of the Eastern Region.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), James Abass- Abaah, Deputy Regional Commander, made this known at a news briefing in Koforidua.

He explained that, in line with the police policy of allowing communities to form neighbourhood watch committee to assist the police to fight crime, residents of Akyem Ofoase Zongo in the Akyemansa District attempted to form one.

However, some members of the group over stepped the legal limit by constituting themselves into a vigilante and flogging people perceived to be law breakers without recourse to due process.

ACP Abass- Abaah said, on December 16, when the police got the information through social media, they acted quickly and arrested nine people but have since given them police enquiry bail.

He said it was because of the flogging of the perceived law breakers that the Ofoase residents nicknamed them “Ofoase Boko Haram.”

The Deputy Regional Commander emphasised that those arrested have no link with Boko Haram or any other group either in Ghana or outside the country.

He said Boko Haram is a serious security issue in West Africa and cautioned the media not to trivialise the issue.

“If by their activities someone decides to nickname them Ofoase Boko Haram, I expect the media to be circumspect in making it appear that there is a threat of Boko Haram in Eastern Region,” he said.

ACP Abass-Abaah gave the assurance that, the police had mapped up security plans for the Yuletide and so far everything is going according to plan to enable Ghanaians spend calm holidays.

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