OPERATION TO MOP UP FIREARMS IN NR UNDERWAY

The police in the Northern Region say they are on top of all security concerns raised in the Northern Region.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Ofosu Mensah Gyeabour, who is in charge of the Northern Sector, responding to several security concerns raised in the Northern region, chief among which is the proliferation of arms, said they had “adopted the necessary strategy to deal with the situation.”
In an interview to respond to calls by a delegation of the European Union led by the French Ambassador, Mr Francis Hurtut who visited the Northern Region last Saturday and made calls of the effective mopping up of the illegal possession of firearms, DCOP Gyeabour said a joint military and police exercise to deal with the situation was on course.
Although he would not give details as the situation did not permit the full disclosure of strategies taken, he assured that intelligence was being gathered on the proliferation of arms in the area as well as the activities of some suspects known to be criminals or rioters.
He said a surveillance system has also been mounted and all these measures would help the police ensure that peace and security was maintained up north.
Investigations at the Ministry of Interior also show that the Ministry is desirous of ensuring peace particularly in the North prior to, during and after the December 7, elections.
The Minister of the Interior, Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor, in reference to a speech he delivered at a seminar organised at the Legon Centre for International Affairs (LECIA) last week pointed out that the government accepted the responsibility for maintaining peace and stability in the country.
In line with that the government would respect the results of the elections as the sovereign will of the Ghanaian people freely expressed through the ballot box and accept these results regardless of which party was victorious, he pledged.
Dr Addo-Kufuor, however, stressed that despite that commitment, any person or group of persons who attempted to undermine the peace of the country would be made to face the full rigours of the law.
19/10.08
DAILY GRAPHIC, MONDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2008