NPP National Chairman, Jake Obetsebi Lamptey
The youth of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Tamale in the Northern Region have threatened to resist any attempt by the police to target followers of the NPP in the region.
The threats of the irate youth in the Tamale metropolis follow the arrest of one Bashiru Red, an ardent member of the NPP and five others.
Reports say the Tamale police arrested Red at the Kotoka International Airport upon his arrival from South Africa after the first round of the just ended FIFA World Cup on charges of allegedly firing a gun shot during the 2004 election at Changli, a suburb of Tamale.
The five others, who are currently in police custody, were also arrested last year for allegedly disturbing and causing panic in the region.
Consequently, the arrest of the latter has since caused panic and fear among the people in the region, especially NPP supporters, as they do not know who would be the next victim of what they youth have described “as unnecessary show of power by the police in the region”.
Although Bashiru Red has since been granted bail, the NPP youth still maintain that until the five persons are released they would continue to demonstrate against the police, arguing that “the persecution of their colleagues is the machinations on the part of government to intimidate NPP sympathizers in the region.”
The five NPP detainees include Yahuza, Habib Adagbana, Majeed, Shaibu Alhassan and Imoro Gundana.
Today can, however, confirm that as a result of the rampant arrest by the police in the metropolis, some of the NPP youth have fled to the nearby towns, including Bolga, Kintampo and Techiman.
In an telephone interview with Chief Inspector Ebenezer Tetteh, the Public Relations Officer of the Northern Regional Police Command, he said “if they we are contacted in due time we would not hesitate to grant them audience.”
Recently some two NPP youth were also arrested by the police for unknown reasons, but have since been released.
Commenting on the arrest of the two, Mr Adam A. Gafaru, the Tamale Central Constituency Secretary of the NPP, branded the arrest as unlawful, emphasizing that “it was politically motivated.”
Against that background, Mr Gafaru averred that until the arrest of NPP members stop the party would not hesitate to criticise the police.
“This arrest can never deter us from criticising the NDC government and we are ever ready to sacrifice our lives for what is right,” he fumed.
Mr Gafara reiterated that the entire NPP youth in the region are ready to dance to the devilish tunes of the NDC government.
“Until the government stops persecuting our members we would not stop speaking. We in the NPP believe that what is bad is bad and therefore has to be condemned,” Mr Gafara stressed.
STORY: FROM HAMZA LANSAH LOLLY, TAMALE
