The Acting General Secretary, of the governing New Patriotic Party, John Boadu, has emphasized his party’s commitment to keeping its vigilante group.
Some alleged pro NPP vigilante groups have gone on rampage taking over state property, attacking a law court and some government appointees since the party assumed the reins of government.
There have been numerous calls for these groups to be disbanded as a result of their perceived violent acts.
But speaking on GHOne TV, the Acting General Secretary of the NPP, maintains members of the Invincible and Delta Forces are the party’s private security groups, insisting the National Security Minister cannot disband them.
“These are youthful people that have great utility for the party. It is about managing and guiding them. It is about guarding them and making sure you put them to useful use for the party.”
He however stressed that even though the party supports them and guides their activities, it will not tolerate any form of lawlessness.
“If they do lawless things the law will take its roots. But [as a General Secretary] I will still support them. I will still make sure that they work within our laws. I will still encourage them and motivate them to be useful citizens of our country because they have lots of resources and utilities that the party can use for its activities”
In an address to Parliament on the matter, the National Security Minister, Kan Dapaah, said efforts are being made to stop such groups. Notwithstanding that, he noted that there were no lawfully registered vigilante group(s) of any political party.
“There are no legally registered vigilante groups in this country and for that matter, there are no such groups to be disbanded. However, I think we need to be pragmatic and accept that foot soldiers of the leading political parties are known to constitute themselves into action troops to molest and unleash violence on the peace loving people of this country.”
“Mr. Speaker, we need to stop these groups because they have the tendency to degenerate into militant groups that can have serious repercussions on the security of this country. We must not mix criminality with politics, lawlessness must be punished. Government has made it clear through the IGP to deal appropriately with all criminals,” he said.