General News of Tuesday, 31 March 2020

Source: starrfm.com.gh

Obey lockdown rules to avoid clashes with security personnel – Agalga

James Agalga James Agalga

Ranking Member of the Defence and Interior Committee in Parliament James Agalga has appealed to Ghanaians within the lockdown zones to be law-abiding to avoid clashes with the security agencies.

Footages circulating on social media showed cases of police and military brutalities against citizens on the first day of the lockdown in Accra and Kumasi.

Security forces were seen punishing residents of the two cities who failed to adhere to the lockdown directive by the President.

Meanwhile, security analyst Adam Bonaa has described the situation as “disgraceful, shameful and should not be happening especially under a democratic dispensation like ours.”

Speaking on the Morning Starr with Francis Abban Tuesday, the former Deputy Interior Minister said his appeal is not to find an excuse for the excesses, but it was important for the citizenry to remain law-abiding.

He said “my appeal is that the populace should be law-abiding in these times. We know the lockdown definitely is going to cause a lot of discomforts, but it is for our own good. If the citizenry is law-abiding, the security agencies will also not have the excuse to be excessive in the way and manner in which they enforce the law in this trying moment.”

He went on “that is not to find an excuse for any excesses that they may have committed in the course of the enforcement of the terms of the lockdown by the security agencies. But it is important that the citizenry are also law-abiding in this very crucial ad trying moment that we all find ourselves in.”

Nationally, Ghana has recorded 152 confirmed cases of Coronavirus with five (5) fatalities as of March 29,2020. The first confirmed case was recorded in March 13, 2020.

President of Ghana Akufo Addo on Friday, March 27, 2020, announced partial lockdown of the Nation’s Capital-Accra and Parts of Ashanti Region as an enhanced measure to prevent increasing community spread having closed down all Borders -Land, sea and Air space.