Disband NPP vigilante groups first – former CID Boss challenges gov’t

Former Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, COP Bright Oduro (retd), has challenged the government to take the first bold step to denounce vigilante groups aligned with the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP). The former CID boss said this will put fear into other political parties, such as the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) that have similar vigilante groups to also follow suit. COP Oduro threw the challenge in an interview with Onua FM’s Yen Sempa on Friday revisiting a proposal by President Akufo-Addo ordering the two parties to disband their vigilante groups in the country. “The government must use its powers to denounce and disband its own vigilante groups to prevent others from using vigilante groups in the country,” he advised, “there should be that commitment by the party in power”. COP Oduro said “the state can use the police and the army on them if they continue using the group. If the government denounces its vigilante group, it will put fear into the rest. The government should take the initiative to disband its vigilante group and find them jobs”. NDC/NPP meeting COP Oduro supported the NDC’s call for a mediator in the vigilante dialogue because “the two parties cannot meet and resolve the issue alone”. “The two parties need a neutral body in the middle because I believe they cannot solve it themselves. I believe it’s more likely to happen so we should allow other body like the civil society organizations to be part”, he explained. By Kweku Antwi-Otoo|editors.3news.com|Ghana