The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has called for the prosecution of persons who masqueraded as National Security operatives and closed the Bekwai District Forestry Commission Office.
In a statement on Facebook on Monday, July 28, the Minister said such “acts of lawlessness should not be allowed to fester”.
According to him there’s the need to preserve public peace and the credibility of institutions like the National Security and thus appalled by the development.
The Minister therefore called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the brains behind the incident — describing it as “brazen and unlawful”.
“This will serve as a strong deterrent to other unscrupulous persons who may harbour similar intentions”, the statement concluded.
The call by the Minister comes on the back of reports of the closure of the Bekwai District Office of the Forestry Commission by persons who masqueraded as National Security operatives on Monday, July 28, 2024.
According to multiple sources, the invaders besieged the office in protest of some actions by the Forestry Commission against illegal mining activities in the enclave.
Clad in black dresses and wielding weapons, the supposed National Security operatives barged into the compound of the Bekwai District Office of the Forestry Commission and locked up the place, insisting it was ‘order from above’.
Meanwhile, the National Security Coordinator has debunked the group’s affiliation to the National Security, adding that the National Security did not authorise the said operation.
The National Security has also ordered the immediate arrest of the men who perpetrated the act, stressing that the National Security will not indulge in such illegality.
