The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Christian Tetteh Yohuno, has expressed confidence in the Police Service to provide the needed security while maintaining law and order ahead of the by-election at Akwatia.According to him, personnel of the police service had received various categories of training to prepare them to deliver on their mandate.Mr Yohuno again expressed confidence in the Police Service when he visited 600 police officers drown from across the regions at the Police High Risk Operations Training Centre (HROTC) at Akyeremanteng in the Eastern Region to be deployed to Akwatia ahead of the by-election to access their readiness and preparations.The 600 police officers, who reported at the HROTC on Friday and ended their training yesterday, received training in vehicle stop and search, client care, human rights, tactical progression, tactical aspect of crowd control, including precision shooting, and rappelling.Mr Yohuno said that a total number 2,000 police officers were receiving training in public order management in addition to the 600 police officers who had received training at the HROTC."We decided to bring you here because there is a need for training, and the training makes one perfect.
And this short time that you have come here and what we have seen, we are very confident and what Ghanaians will see, they will know that there is no fear for Akwatia", Mr Yohuno stated.He warned perpetrators of electoral violence to desist from being involved in such an act as the police service had developed various strategies to deal with such individuals."If you come quietly to vote, we will also receive you quietly.
If you come to observe quietly, we will also observe you quietly.
But if you have any intention of causing trouble, we will not allow you to go free but will change your location", Mr Yohuno cautioned.He further assured the citizenry of peaceful election at Akwatia as the police service had back-up plans and strategies developed with not less than 5,000 police offers prepared to move to the area to ensure peace and security.Mr Yohuno, during the visit, inspected the police officers on the ground as well as the various drills and also observed rappelling drills by the police officers and instructors.The Administrator in charge of Rappelling, Detective Inspector of Police Nana Yaw Nyarko Tabi, in an interview with the media, said that the rappelling drills by the police officers was to prepare a team to get to areas that could not be accessed by road with the aid of ropes.Rappelling is an act of descending a rock face or other near-vertical surface by using a doubled rope coiled around the body fixed at a point.During the rappelling drills, it was observed Sergeant Godwin Ahorlu, a Master Rappeller, came down with his face down and fired gun shoots.According to Detective Inspector Tabi, the firing of gun shots by Sergeant Ahorlu was to eliminate certain threats that needed to be eliminated before the rappelling took place. FROM BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY, AKYEREMANTENG
