Ghana records 165 violent cases from July to September – IPEG
Ghana has recorded a total of 165 violent cases from July to September 2018, a report from the Institute for Peace and Governance (IPEG), a Ghana-based governance and security Think-Tank has stated.
Out of the number of recorded cases, the report said 96 persons died, while 156 of them got injured in the process.
The report, which was copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra stated that the Greater Accra Region was considered the most volatile, recording 53 out of the 165 cases throughout the country.
The report signed by Mr Justin Bayor, Programme Director of the Institute said the Ashanti and Central regions also recorded 23 and 22 cases respectively and described the Upper East Region as the most peaceful region of the quarter with two cases.
According to the report, the Western Region recorded 19 cases, while the Northern and Eastern regions recorded 16 and 14 cases respectively.
The Volta and Brong Ahafo regions recorded six cases each while the Upper West and Upper East Regions recorded the least of four and two cases respectively.
The report covered a range of violent cases including; Youth related violence, Violence against women, Violence against children, politically motivated violence, road accidents armed robbery/armed attack Corruption, Arms proliferation, Murder/Suicide Farmer pastoralist clashes.
The others were; Oil and gas/mining related violence Disaster-Fire outbreaks/arson, floods, rainstorms, drought, Health related violence, Humanrights abuse, Threats of violent extremism, Strikes and labour/industrial unrests, Chieftaincy, ethnic, land and religious violence.
The report said the major threat to peace and security in the country within the period were Violence against Children, armed Robbery/armed attack, Murder/Suicide and Disaster-Fire Outbreaks, Arson, Floods, Rainstorm and Drought.
According to the report, 36 incidents of Violence against Children were recorded out of which, 23 were recorded for Greater Accra region, five for Volta region and four for Central region.
The report said out of the 36 recorded incidents, 26 of them were defilement cases in which one of was a case of sodomy.
It said two of the cases involved physical bodily injuries on children perpetrated by the security agencies and one was committed by a parent.
On armed robberies and attacks, 27 incidents were recorded with six 6 cases in Northern region, five in the Western region and four in the Ashanti region, while nine deaths and 22 injuries resulting from Armed Robbery and Armed Attacks were recorded.
On murder and suicide, 24 incidents were identified, with the Central region recorded the highest number of seven cases, while Ashanti and Western regions recorded the second highest with five incidents each.
Seventeen (17) of the recorded cases according to the report were murder related cases, whiles the rest were suicide cases with one attempted suicide case involving 27-year-old Akwasi Offi popularly known as Shatta Wale who nearly beheaded himself with a sharp knife at Nsuaem in the Bosom Freho District of the Ashanti Region.
The report said Disaster-Fire Outbreaks, Arson, Floods, Rainstorms and Drought recorded 18 under the period with Ashanti region recording five cases, four in the Greater Accra, Region and three in the three regions of the North.
Nine (9) cases of the disaster were fire outbreaks, with one involving a pastor who lost his entire family while eight incidents were recorded for floods and One (1) incident was an industrial accident involving a 19 year old who died.
There were 22 deaths and 12 injuries resulting from Fire Outbreaks, Floods and Rainstorms according to the report.
According to the report, road accidents recorded 14 cases, corruption 12 and violence against, 10 were new and emerging threats to peace recorded over the period that needed to be addressed.
“These threats must particularly be watched for Greater Accra region, which recorded a score of five for Road accidents, nine for Corruption and four for Violence against Women. One notable incident under Violence against Women involved the public beating of a nursing mother by a policeman which was very appalling. There were 26 deaths and 102 injuries resulting from Road Accidents alone.”
The IPEG in the report appealed to the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) to intensify its sensitisation efforts towards the Ghanaian populace to inform them about the dire criminal consequences of child defilement as it attracted a punishment of between seven and
25 years imprisonment.
It also encouraged the judiciary to deal decisively and expeditiously with the numerous cases of child defilement which were brought before them in order to serve as a deterrence to people with such criminal intentions.
The IPEG also called on the media to provide public education in local dialects on the harmful effects of child defilement on children and the legal consequences of defilement on people who were found culpable and called on NADMO, the Government and financial institutions to help to reduce the economic and social burdens on the victims of disasters and their families.
The Institute also appealed to the law enforcement bodies such as the police to increase their security patrols and strict enforcement of the law especially along the highways and be fair and firm in dealing with individuals and groups flouting the laws.
It also called on Government in the face of recent job losses and the attendant economic challenges, to establish social programmes that would cushioning victims of job losses as a way of reducing the growing incidents of murders/suicides in the country.
The Institute for Peace and Governance (IPEG) is a think-tank that undertakes research into peace and security matters in order to inform policy directions. It seeks to critically engage relevant focus areas on peace, conflict, human security and governance aimed at informing policy formulation and institutional practice in Ghana.
Source: GNA