As a person born into a struggling family, Ogya Nyame said he was forced to be independent at a not so ripe age which led him into the den of criminals.

According to him, he succumbed to societal pressure and engaged himself in all manner of vices including pimping services and working as a land guard.

“At that time ‘macho’ was the job in town so I had to learn it. I deliberately lifted weight to achieve that body and I started working as a land guard. We protected property and sometimes engaged in brutal fights to protect our clients’ possessions,” he told host Abena Ghana on The Journey show.

Ogya Nyame mastered the job such that he earned the street name ‘killer’.

Despite the odd jobs, he said he did not get the financial breakthrough he needed and had to resort to one pastor to the other for directions.

It was in the altar of one pastor that it was revealed to him he had spiritual calling and he was destined to be a pastor.

He remarked that he took his leave in anger and visited another church where the divine message was reechoed.

In just a day, he made the decision to heed to his spiritual calling and he has since not relented.

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The taxi driver from Akyim Tafo in the Eastern region moved to Oyibi as a caretaker in an uncompleted building after failing to secure a contract with a car owner.

A few weeks later, his friend introduced him to another ‘businessman’ who was supposed to give him a car, but he realised he was a notorious land guard, so he decided to become a labourer and caretaker to fend for himself.

After securing a place to live, Mr Agyemang said the owner of the land was given an ultimatum to stop building her 5-bedroom house because she purchased from the ‘wrong’ family.

He added that, the woman agreed to pay the same amount she gave the first family in a month, so she pleaded for time.

“We were told the land belonged to a different family so if she wants peace she had to pay again. So she was given a month to finish. But the other family warned me that consequences exist if she doesn’t pay.”

Narrating the incident further on Experiences in Life show with actress Nayas, Mr Agyemang said he became a target for the land guards who visited him one dawn to kill him.

“A month passed by, and the landlady requested an extension, but they didn’t agree. I didn’t know that I would become the target until the woman pays the money. I was living in a single room and taking care of the house.”

“September 23, at 4 am, about 4 men were knocking on my door. I didn’t upon the door, but I heard one of them mentioning my name. When I opened the louvers, I saw men with knives, guns and other weapons, and I became scared.”

He continued, “They broke the door down and asked me to say my last prayer. These were men I knew in the area, but they didn’t mind. I couldn’t escape so I prayed. When I finished, they slashed my head with the knife. And they repeated the woman must come and pay the money.”

Mr Agyemang, narrating how he was shot said, “I saw one of them remove a gun and pointed it at me, I got scared and took a few steps back… but I heard the sound of the gun and fell. I started screaming and they got scared and left. They thought they had shot my stomach but it was my leg,” he added.

The caretaker said it worsened when “one of them decided to return to finish the job by attempting to cut my leg.”

“I called one of the friends in Tema to tell the Oyibi police to come for me. I was weak until I was taken to the hospital. Korle Bu doctors told my family that they have to cut the leg… I went to Pepease Lodge, it didn’t work, so my leg was finally cut at the Koforidua Government Hospital.”

Mr Agyemang added that, the case went to court but has been adjourned for over the years with no judgment and the men who attempted to murder him are lurking around in the neighbourhood.

“The CID told arrested the suspects and told me they will take the case to a lower Court for one month before it moves to High Court. From 2011 till now, the case has always adjourned. I have all the documents and dockets with me up till now,” he added.

What worsen his plight, Mr. Agyemang indicated was when his wife left him to marry another man because she could not deal with his disability.

He said he has learnt a bitter lesson and urged all caretakers to sign contracts with landlords since there is no insurance package if anything happens to them.

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The suspects, who were armed with offensive weapons, are alleged to have harassed developers in the district.

Sources say the 12 arrested culprits were ganged up in a black Toyota Hilux Truck while allegedly making plans to cause mayhem.

It is alleged they were planning an attack on the Omankrado of Gomoa Fetteh, Nana Kwesi Quansah, after the chief and his surveyors were at the site to settle a land dispute case between two factions.

The Gomoa East District Security Council a few weeks ago imposed a ban on all landguard activities including the demand for digging fees.

In an interview with Adom News, Special aid to Gomoa Fetteh Omankrado ,Nana Kwesi Duodu, is calling on the police to conduct thorough investigations into the attempted attack on the Omankrado and have the suspects as well as other culprits brought to face justice.

Per information gathered, the land guards numbering four stormed a construction site and assaulted the victims working on a fish pond.

They are said to have turned their attention on a mason, Nana Yeboah, believed to be the head of the workers, and subjected him to severe beatings.

He narrated how the men ganged up on him and tore his clothes off in the process.

The matter was subsequently reported to the police and two of the suspects have been picked up.

Meanwhile, acting head of family of Gomoa Ojobi, Nana Atta Panyin, said that land guard activities were getting out of hand.

He disclosed that residents work with their eyes behind their heads, ready to flee whenever unidentified men head towards their sites.

He called on the police to beef up security and bring an end to all illegal litigation practices.

Police say the suspects will be put before court on Monday to face the law since land guard activity is a crime.

Christopher Avedzi, who was attending to his mother’s provision shop, is said to have had a confrontation with one of the land guards for using their bread knife for wrong purposes.

According to information, the leader of the group, Kweku Agyatey, snatched the bread knife to remove filth from his palm.

In an interview with Adom News, Cecila Avedzi, sister of the deceased, said he confronted the leader of the group, reminding him that COVID-19 is still lurking around.

The statement is said to have infuriated suspect Agatey who stormed out and returned with two of his colleagues wielding guns and cutlasses.

They are said to have ordered Christopher to kneel and apologise for the statement, and when he refused, they beat him to stupor and hit his head multiple times against a tree.

Upon noticing blood oozing from his nose and mouth, the perpetrators are said to have fled the scene.

Christopher died in the hospital to suspected internal bleeding.

He is survived by a wife, Georgina Armah and eight children.

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According to the Abusuapanin, he and the entire family were in their family house performing annual rituals for their family gods when the men attacked them with broken bottles.

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In an interview with Adom News, Nana Banafo said four men, out of the eight, who were contracted to commit the act, have been arrested by the Awutu Bereku District Police Command with the remaining four currently at large.

Meanwhile, residents are calling on the Inspector-General of Police to beef up security in the area to save lives and property.

In an interview with Adom News, some of the victims said they went to their site to take pictures after they had information that their buildings had been demolished by unknown persons.

In the process, some alleged land guards attacked them, which elicited a retaliation in full force.

The victims appealed to the Inspector-General of Police to beef up security in the area since actions of land guards are becoming unbearable.

The victims accused four families of Dankyira of organising the attack.

However, spokesperson of the families, James Nii Okai Ayi, has denied the allegations, pinning the blame on some security officers who are in the area to create confusion.

He said the absence of a police station in the area has led to the rise in land guard activities.

The farmers, who were working on their pineapple farm, were confronted by nine land guards who demanded of them to halt work on the plot they claimed had been sold to a developer.

To hint on how serious they were, the well-built males jumped onto their motorbikes and started brutalising the farmers with machetes and stones.

One of the victims, Kofo Safo, in an interview with Adom News, alleged the land guards beat him with his own machete, leaving him unable to walk aside the blood on his skin.

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Some of the affected farmers called on the government to come to their aid before they take the laws into their own hands.

The residents say they are living in fear and have asked the Inspector General of Police (IGP), David Asante-Apeatu, to heighten security in the area.

A troubled resident, Dr. Martin Luther on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem said the land guards are harassing and forcing them out of their properties.

He said the Land Guards have on many occasions subjected care takers of some of the properties to severe physical assault.

Dr. Lurther said sometimes, these armed thugs fire gunshots sporadically, scaring children, innocent families, and the entire community.

He cited how a pastor in the area was beaten to pulp by these land guards for insisting on his right.

The distraught resident said they have made countless report to the Adenta-Abokobi Divisional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Joseph Antwi Gyawu to no avail.

“The land guards claim they are acting on the orders of the Adenta-Abokobi Police Commander so we want him to come out to deny otherwise the blood of anyone who dies will be on his head” he fumed.

Dr. Martin Lurther said they will be petitioning the IGP, Asante-Apeatu to intervene.