One hit in the head, scores injured as Police fire warning shots to disperse NDC crowd

One person is allegedly hit in the head and several others injured as police fired warning shots to disperse hundreds of National Democratic Congress supporters protesting the arrest of their deputy general secretary Koku Anhyidoho over alleged treasonable comments. READ: Koku Anyidoho arrested over coup comment The protesters blocked the Danquah Circle-Kwame Nkrumah Cirlce road at the Police national headquarters section during Tuesday’s evening rush hour, a situation that created chaotic traffic scene in the area. [caption id="attachment_79412" align="aligncenter" width="800"] The supporters blocked a section of the Danquah-Kwame Nkrumah circle road at the Police headquarters[/caption] Vehicles moving from both directions came to a standstill in front of the Police headquarters as the protestors insisted on the release of their party executive before they make way for commuters. Though the Police initially tried avoiding the use of minimal force to disperse the milling crowd, it was later forced to use water cannon on the the protestors as it fired warning shots. READ: NDC dissociates itself from Anyidoho’s coup d’etat comments “Police have fired warning shots. I’ve heard about three,” 3FM’s Solomon Mensah who was at the Police headquarters reported. A technician who was said to have been invited to the Police headquarters to fix a decoder for him was hit in the head. “The Police also were trying to disperse the crowd and they ended up hitting him in the head and he was badly injured. He showed us his phone which also had the contact of the director to prove he not was part of the NDC supporters who were here at the CID headquarters,” TV3’s Selorm Amenya reported on TV3’s News360 on Tuesday night. [caption id="attachment_79428" align="aligncenter" width="600"] The man is said to have been hit by the warning shot[/caption] He said there was another lady who was “badly hit in the thigh” our correspondent said, adding “she was nearly collapsed and she had to be rushed to the hospital” [caption id="attachment_79414" align="aligncenter" width="540"] The lady said to have been hit by Police in the process of dispersing the crowd[/caption] According to our correspondent, other supporters of the NDC suffered varied degree of injuries. He reported that currently the police have managed to clear the area and traffic moving smoothly.

Background  The NDC firebrand, Koku Anyidoho, suggested in a radio interview Monday, March 26 that there would be ‘civil revolt’ and ‘civilian coup d’état’ in the country from Wednesday, March 28. His comment, which has since gone viral, has widely been condemned by some Ghanaians. Plain-clothed officers later Tuesday afternoon picked up Anyidoho at the Accra International Press Centre where he and others were addressing journalists. He has since been interrogated at the Police CID headquarters in Accra and his house searched. Though the General secretary of the NDC Johnson Asiedu has since Tuesday stated Anyidoho’s comments do not reflect the position of the party, he has been leading other executives of the party to demand his release from custody. NDC’s comment not enough Government issued a statement later to state it is not enough for the National Democratic Congress to distance itself from the ‘treasonable’ comments without condemning same. Information Minister Dr. Mustapha Hamid who signed and issued the satatement said the government is “concerned that the NDC does not condemn the treasonable comments of Anyidoho”. “We find the NDC’s reluctance to condemn Anyodoh as particularly disturbing”, he said. The statement said the coup, which Anyidoho said, would begin Wednesday coincides with a demonstration which has received NDC’s endorsement. “It is therefore important that the NDC demonstrates its commitment to democratic governance by showing that the Wednesday demonstration is not a smoke screen for fomenting insurrection as Anyidoho claims,” the statement said. Government has thus called on the NDC to show commitment by unreservedly condemning what it described as “treasonable comments” by Anyidoho. It assured that appropriate steps would be taken within the law, to protect the security of the state. “Government assures the citizens, that it will take appropriate steps within the bounds of law, to protect the security of the state,” it concluded. By Stephen Kwabena Effah|3news.com|Ghana]]>