Residents of Kpatcheremidor/Sohapa, a farming community at Ningo Traditional Area in the Ningo-Prampram District of the Greater Accra Region, are living in constant fear.

The development follows recent alleged attacks by some soldiers, police officers and land-guards over their own lands.

The visibly worried residents, who are predominately farmers, have, called for the police to come to their aid.

According to the residents, they suffer constant harassments and brutalities from gun-wielding solders, police officers and land-guards, who are believed to be operatives of a powerful chief (name withheld) in the area.

They lamented that this powerful chief and his elders, who claim ownership of all lands in Kpatcheremidor/Sohapa community within the Ningo-Prampram District, were forcibly taking their legally acquired lands away from them.

Speaking in an interview with Today yesterday to stress the urgent need for government’s intervention to avert bloody clashes between the people of Ningo and Osudoku, Chief of Kpatcheremidor/Sohapa, Nene Otu Ackam I, alleged that people within his jurisdiction were often beaten anytime they visit their farms to work by a joint force of police and military men in uniform.

Nene Otu Ackam noted that they had officially written to the ministers of defence, interior and national security and copied to the inspector general of police to call their officers to order.

“Unfortunately, we have heard no response from these two security ministries,” he said.

He bemoaned that the constant brutalities meted out to them by the solders and police officers has compelled many of the residents to vacate the area to seek refuge in nearby communities in order to safe their lives.

He disclosed that for the past one-and-a-half years the people of Shai Osudoku Traditional Area have been using military, police officers and land-guards to terrorise them on their lands, which development was creating fear and panic in the area.

“In fact, we are worried over the recent attacks on them over their own 32,000 acres of lands their forefathers bequeathed to them. We have lived here for over four hundred years without any disturbances. The mainstay of the people is farming.

“The area, though falls under the Osudoku state boundary, is part of the Ningo Traditional Area and administration. Just because the land falls under the Osudoku state boundary, the chiefs and some persons from Osudoku are taking advantage to perpetuate impropriety on it, with such disregard to the people of Kpatcheremidor, Sohapa and the Ningo people as a whole,” he further stated.

While giving account on incidents that had happened to his members, Nene Ackam I said for about a year now, the people of Osudoku Traditional Area have been claiming ownership of the village though records at archives indicate otherwise.

“We are using this medium to advise the claimant of our village to exercise restraint since we are all aware that this matter is in court. And we all waiting for the court’s judgement.”

Explaining to the paper why the said land belonged to the people of Ningo, yet it is within the boundary of the Osudoku state, he said that stretch of land was given to them as a ‘thank you’ gift by the Akakposu family for helping them in a war.