The Western Regional Police Commander, DCOP Nathan Kofi Boakye has warned the natives of Ahanta West District of the region who have taken the law into their hands by lynching innocent people suspected to be ritual murderers, to desist from that act.

Residents of Ahanta West District claimed they were living in fear over suspected ritual murders of two indigenes of the area recently.

They alleged that the deceased were gruesomely murdered with parts of their bodies removed, and their corpses badly mutilated in what looked like a ritual murder.

They had then threatened to lynch any stranger suspected of behaving strangely.

At a meeting with the chiefs and opinion leaders in the district at Agona-Nkwanta yesterday, DCOP Kofi Boakye explained that the laws of this country did not permit the people to lynch anyone with suspicious character.

He pointed out that meting out instant justice to such suspected criminals would only deprive the police of vital information.

He rather advised the Ahantas to report anyone suspected to be a murderer in the area to the police for the law to take its course, adding that the law would deal ruthlessly with anyone or group of persons caught lynching suspected criminals.

“We have laws in this country, so even if the victims killed people in the district, you don’t have to take the laws into your own hands but inform the police for investigations,” he added.

According to DCOP Kofi Boakye, interestingly, none of the deceased had been indentified, which meant that they might be strangers who came to the area to do business or for some other purpose.

He indicated that the Regional Police Command was investigating the matter with urgency to arrest the perpetrators of the heinous crime adding “even if the investigations take ten years, the perpetrators will be apprehended”.

The Regional Police Commander told the people that as part of efforts to ensure proper security in the ever-expanding district, the police station in the area would be raised to district status so that more policemen could be deployed to the district.

He encouraged the people to form watch-dog committees which would collaborate with the police to intensify night patrols in the district.

DCOP Kofi Boakye appealed to the chiefs to beat their gong-gong on regular basis to sensitize the people on the need to arrest and report people with suspicious character in their communities, instead of lynching them.

During an open forum, the chiefs commended the regional police commander for the initiative to meet with the people in the area to deliberate on how to deal with the rampant lynching in the area and other security issues.