Salam Mustapha, the National Youth Organizer, has issued a stern warning to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Christian Tetteh Yohuno, ahead of the upcoming Akwatia by-election.
Mustapha cautioned that any deployment of police officers wearing masks during the election period will be met with strong resistance and those officers will be regarded as thugs by the local community.
Speaking to a GhOne TV reporter in Akwatia Constituency, Mustapha made it clear that the presence of masked police officers would be unacceptable and would escalate tensions in an already charged political environment.
“We are sounding this caution that we do not want to see masked police people. Masked people, police, we don’t want to see any,” he asserted.
Mustapha emphasized that every police officer must be easily identifiable by name tags and have their faces visible at all times.
“This message goes directly to the IGP. Every police officer must have their name tag, and the people must see the face of the person on duty,” he said firmly.
Failing to comply, Mustapha warned, will lead to those officers being viewed as criminals rather than law enforcement agents.
“Otherwise, we will treat the person as a thug,” he declared, accusing the National Democratic Congress (NDC) of planning to use thugs to disrupt the election.
He further warned of potential clashes if such plans are carried out, stressing that the community is prepared to defend itself.
“We are not here for experiments. We will not allow people to come and play with our lives, not at all. I want a peaceful election. I have come to meet a peaceful society. But if some bad people are planning to come and engage in voter suppression or misbehave, we will not allow it. Nobody will,” Mustapha stated.
Mustapha pledged that the youth forces aligned with his organization are ready to respond to any form of aggression.
“We are also here in our full force. And by the grace of God, if they want a showdown, we are ready for a showdown,” he concluded.
