Savannah News Online Reporting Only What Matters Most
Related Articles
Tamale, Ghana – Institute for Peace and Governance (IPEG), a Ghanaian peace and security think-tank has revealed in its latest quarterly report that the Upper East and Upper West Regions are Ghana’s most peaceful regions.
According to IPEG, between July and September 2018, 165 incidents were recorded out of which 96 people died and 156 people were hurt.
The Greater Accra, according to the report released on Monday October 22, 2018 is the most volatile region recording 53 incidents followed by Ashanti region and Central region 23 and 22 incidents respectively.
“The Upper East region remains the most peaceful (2 incidents) followed by Upper West region with 4 incidents”, the report indicated.
The report primarily focused on violence against children, armed robbery/armed attack, murder/suicide and disaster (fire outbreak/arson/floods/rainstorms/drought.
The report also pointed out that, there are new and emerging threats to peace recorded over the 3-month period which needs to be watched closely. These threats are road accidents 14, corruption 12 and violence against women 10.
These threats, the reported noted, must particularly be watched for Greater Accra region which recorded a score of 5 for road accidents, 9 for corruption and 4 for violence against women.
“One notable incident under violence against women involved the public beating of a nursing mother by a policeman which was very appalling. There were 26 deaths and 102 injuries resulting from road accidents alone”, it revealed.
On the way forward, IPEG among other things appealed to the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) to intensify its sensitization efforts towards the Ghanaian populace to inform them about the dire criminal consequences of child defilement as it attracts a punishment of between 7-25 years imprisonment.
It also encouraged the judiciary to deal decisively and expeditiously with the numerous cases of child defilement which are brought before them in order to serve as deterrence to people with such criminal intentions.
IPEG further called on the media to provide public education in local dialect on the harmful effects of child defilement on children and the legal consequences of defilement on people who are found culpable.
The IPEG is a think-tank that undertakes research into peace and security matters in order to inform policy directions. It seeks to critically engage relevant focus areas on peace, conflict, human security and governance aimed at informing policy formulation and institutional practice in Ghana.
Below is a detailed report of the various incidents recorded
- Violence Against Children
Thirty six (36) incidents of violence against children were recorded. Of this number, 23 cases were recorded for Greater Accra region, 5 for Volta region and 4 for Central region. Out of the 36recorded incidents, 26 of them were defilement cases, one of which was a case a case of sodomy. Two (2) cases involved physical bodily hurt on children perpetrated by the security agencies and 1 was committed by a parent. -
Armed Robbery/Armed Attack
Twenty seven (27) incidents were recorded under armed robbery and armed attacks. Of this number, 6 cases were recorded for the Northern region, 5 for Western region and 4 for Ashanti region. Interestingly, this happens to be a threat that is almost evenly distributed among all the regions. Out of the 27 incidents, 4 of them were cases of armed attack on people. There were 9 deaths and 22 injuries resulting from armed robbery and armed attacks. -
Murder/Suicide
Twenty four (24) incidents were identified under murder/suicide. The Central region recorded the highest number of murders/suicides (7), with Ashanti and Western regions recording the second highest with 5 incidents each. Seventeen (17) of the recorded cases were murder related cases whiles the rest were suicide cases. One (1) of the suicide cases was an attempted suicide involving 27-year old Akwasi Offi popularly known as Shatta Wale who nearly beheaded himself with a sharp knife at Nsuaem in the Bosome Freho District of the Ashanti Region. -
Disaster (Fire Outbreaks/Arson/Floods/Rainstorms/Drought
Eighteen (18) cases were recorded under disaster for the period with Ashanti 5, Greater Accra 4, and Northern 3, as the most prone regions. Nine (9) cases of the disaster were fire outbreaks, one of which involved a pastor who lost his entire family whiles 8 incidents were recorded for floods. One (1) incident was an industrial accident involving a 19 year old who died. There were 22 deaths and 12 injuries resulting from fire outbreaks, floods and rainstorms.
By Savannahnewsonline.com/Philip Liebs
