Police Dares Ghanaian Traders Over Closure Of Nigerian Shops

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The Accra Regional Police Command has told Ghanaian retailers to go to court to seek redress over the involvement of foreigners in the retail business.

The Police said it will not allow the aggrieved workers to take the law into their own hands in protest against foreigners in the retail space.

This comes after some Ghanaian traders who are members of the Ghana Electrical Dealers Association (GEDA) on Wednesday, locked up shops owned by Nigerians at the Opera Square in Accra.

About 17 shops were locked up in the process.

Last week, a similar exercise was undertaken at the Suame Magazine in Kumasi, where some Nigerians were violently forced to close their shops.

The Ghanaians say the Nigerian traders must exit the retail trade because it is solely reserved for them.

But the Police managed to restore calm by re-opening the 17 Nigerian shops that were closed down at Opera Square.

The Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Kwaku Boadu Preprah, told Citi News the Ghanaians can go ahead and seek legal redress.

“We re-opened about 17 shops and we have the padlocks. I am on the side of the rule of law. What the law says is exactly what we are doing. They don’t have the right to go and lock somebody’s shop. If they want to lock the shops, they should go to court,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) has accused the police of over ‘inhumane treatment’ to members.

It says it will petition the Inspector General of Police (IGP), David Asante-Apeatu to call the Accra Regional Police Commander to order for the inhumane treatment he allegedly meted out to some of its members who were arrested in connection with threats to take action against foreigners in the retail business.

By:  citinewsroom.com