Calm returns to Pushegu

April 16, 2008
Story: Zakaria Alhassan, Tamale
CALM has returned to Pushegu in the Karaga District in the Northern Region after disturbances in the farming community that led to a clash between a section of the youth in the area and the police last weekend.
An AK 47 assault rifle that went missing in the ensuing disorder has also been retrieved following a police cum military swoop on the community.
Three persons, two of them policemen, who sustained various degrees of injury during the clash, are receiving treatment at the Gushegu Hospital in the Gushegu District.
In all, 29 people who were arrested by the security forces are in custody at Yendi awaiting screening and prosecution.
The disturbances occurred when the police tried to arrest a suspect in an assault case, Fuseini Haruna, who happens to be the assembly member for the area.
Haruna together with six others was alleged to have assaulted one Ibrahim Abu, aka Naazo, without provocation.
When the police went to the community to effect the arrest of the suspects after a complaint had been made by the victim, a section of the youth protested, resulting in the disturbances.
According to a police source, the rifle was snatched from one of the injured policemen in the process. The irate youth also smashed the windscreen of the police vehicle used for the operation.
The combined security forces later mounted a swoop on the community to retrieve the rifle.
However, the assembly member and his accomplices, who escaped arrest during the disorder, are yet to be apprehended by the police.
When contacted, the Karaga District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Babaa Wahab, confirmed the story and commended the security for their professionalism that had brought the situation under control.
He entreated the people to co-operate with the police to ensure lasting peace in the district, which is one of the most deprived in the country.