Heads must roll – Dr. Ashigbey says after attack on IGP’s anti-galamsey taskforce in Bonteso
The Convenor of the Media Coalition Against Galamsey, Dr. Ken Ashigbey, has called for sweeping arrests and urgent investigations following a violent attack on the Inspector General of Police’s (IGP) anti-galamsey taskforce in Bonteso, Ashanti Region.
Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, Dr. Ashigbey praised the taskforce for pushing through with their mission despite the hostility they faced. The incident occurred on Wednesday after the team seized an excavator from an illegal mining site near Manso Nkwanta.
According to reports, the assailants, allegedly led by the local assembly member, hurled stones at the officers to prevent them from leaving with the seized machinery. The crowd, made up largely of community members, ignored warning shots and continued to confront the taskforce.
Dr. Ashigbey expressed outrage that such a high-level intervention was necessary, blaming local authorities for failing to act.
“By now, the assemblyman should have been arrested, the District Chief Executive sacked, and the police commanders at the divisional, district, and regional levels interdicted. It is unacceptable that it took the IGP’s taskforce to carry out this operation when these local leaders should have acted long ago,” he asserted.
He further urged that traditional leaders complicit in galamsey activities be arrested and called for ownership tracing of seized excavators and tipper trucks through chassis numbers and import records.
Citing former President John Mahama’s earlier declaration of galamsey as a national emergency, Dr. Ashigbey pressed for even tougher measures, including a formal state of emergency in affected areas.
“We have reached a critical point, and this is no time for jokes. Look at the people we have lost — fathers, children, and husbands who were on their way to an event aimed at tackling galamsey. We are still mourning, and this happens? This is abominable, and these people are not just galamseyers but environmental criminals,” he lamented.
The attack has intensified calls for decisive action against illegal mining, which continues to endanger Ghana’s environment, water bodies, and human lives.
Source: Gertrude Otchere | Adomonline
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