Officers of the Ghana Police Service who have been deployed to man the relocation of onion traders from Agbogbloshie market in Accra to Adjen Kotoku Market in the Ga West Municipality fired gunshots ‘to save the traders’.
According to the police, some criminals attempted to take advantage of the process to attack the traders, so they decided to confront them.
TV3’s Gold Armstrong reported that there were pelting of stones and burning of lorry tyres by some of the traders who were resisting their removal from the Agbogbloshie market.
“I can see one man down but I don’t know what is wrong with him,” the reporter said.
Meanwhile, the Director of Operations at the Accra Regional Police Command, ACP Kwesi Ofori who confirmed the gunshots to Citinewsroom.com said the exercise has been ongoing well until the criminals attempted to strike.
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He said some of the alleged criminals have been arrested for questioning.
“[The relocation] has been a planned and peaceful exercise. It went on peacefully without any incident, so there is no need for what we are seeing but rather some criminal elements wanted to take advantage of the situation to attack the market women at the Dagomba end,” ACP Kwesi Ofori said as quoted by Citinewsroom.com.
“The police just intervened to protect everybody. That is what we did. The traders were a bit apprehensive when those criminals jumped in on their end.
“Some of the criminal elements have been arrested, and they will be interrogated.”
Onion traders who used to ply their trade in the Agbogbloshie market are being relocated to Adjen Kotoku Market in the Ga West Municipality from today, Thursday, July 1, 2021.
Their movement follows a directive by the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey as part of measures to decongest the national capital.
