The Ghana Police Service has hinted that it will, through the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL), seek to provide protection for Ghanaian tomato traders who cart tomatoes from Burkina Faso to Ghana.
It would be recalled that two Ghanaian tomato traders who were among a group of women on their way to buy tomatoes in Burkina Faso were killed by suspected robbers during an attack on Friday evening [April 15, 2022].
Three other traders who sustained injuries from gunshots received treatment at the War Memorial Hospital in Navrongo in the Kassena Nankana Municipality of the Upper East Region.
The Ghana Police Service in an attempt to prevent the reoccurrence of the situation is expected to liaise with the security apparatus in Burkina Faso, through INTERPOL, to provide protection for the Ghanaian traders.
Speaking on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show, the Public Affairs Officer of the Upper East Regional Command of the Ghana Police Service, Assistant Superintendant of Police (ASP) David Fianko Okyere explained that while the Ghana Police Service has increased police protection for the traders within the country, conversations around the security of the traders in Burkina Faso need to begin.
“From Kareminga to the Paga border, we have a 24-hour escort for them [the tomato traders]. In fact, two vehicles have been dedicated to that. For some time now, there has never been any robbery on the Ghana part. We give them maximum security”.
“We cannot go into Burkina Faso and provide security. What we are trying to do is to liaise with our counterparts in Burkina Faso to see whether they can extend those services to them [the tomato traders]. That will be done through INTERPOL,” he said.
While ASP Fianko Okyere explained that he is unsure that such a situation would repeat itself, he considered the unfortunate situation a rather fair opportunity to begin the conversations around protecting the traders.
He said the families of the deceased have been notified.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
