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Tamale, Ghana – The ‘Behisung’ (Welfare) Taskforce of the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, on Sunday, 20 May 2018, at about 10:00pm went round the Central Business District to arrest children under the age of 16 who were roaming about.
It is an exercise instituted by the assembly to stop children from loitering at night within the metropolis.
The Metropolitan Chief Executive, Musah Iddrisu Superior, led the Taskforce through the principal streets and vantage points in the area where these minors roam aimlessly.
According to the Commander of the Taskforce, Chief Mohammed Hafiz Dema-Naa, this is not the first operation the group was undertaking.
In an interview with Class News’ Northern Regional Correspondent, Mohammed Gadafi, Chief Dema-Naa said the responsibility of the taskforce is to rescue children from nocturnal danger.
He noted that the children are taken to the Social Welfare Centre in Tamale and their parents summoned to answer why their wards were wandering at that time.
About 20 children were arrested during the operation. The commander explained that it is becoming rampant in Tamale for children between the ages of 10 and 16 to wander at night.
He said the children were going to be released on Monday morning to allow them to go to school, but warned that the parents would be prosecuted if their children are caught wandering again after a stern warning this time.
A 14-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl were caught by the taskforce around the premises of the Ghana Water Company Limited allegedly having unprotected sex.
Vendors in the vicinity told the taskforce that it is not the first time the two children have been seen together at odd hours. During interrogation, the boy explained that his parents were not in the house.
He said the father works in Accra and the mother has traveled. The girl also explained that her parents were in the house but sneaked out to chat with the boy.
The Tamale mayor said the assembly was not going to tolerate or allow children to roam the streets of after 10pm.
He said the chiefs in the area as well as the public, have been informed about the ‘Behisung’ taskforce.
He further urged the people of Tamale to support the assembly to execute its mandate. “We need the support of the people to be able to deliver a transformation of Tamale that is sensitive to the plight of children and the elderly”.
Source: classfmonline.com
