Ga South: Land guards kill one, injure three over digging fee

One person has been shot dead while three others are receiving treatment after land guards attacked some individuals working on a construction site at Tebu in the Ga South Municipality of the Greater Accra Region.

The land guards who were heavily armed demanded a digging fee of GHC4000 but were told by the individuals that they had already paid another group of land guards on Thursday.

After being denied the money, the land guards fired sporadically killing one and injuring three in the process.

Felix Akunnor a victim who survived the ordeal but got injured in the foot told Citi News that the land guards initially questioned why they were working on the land without paying the digging fee.

But after resisting paying the fee because they had paid to another group it infuriated the land guards who called for reinforcement.

“The men who came later were wielding guns and machetes and started firing at us. Four of my brothers were hit by a bullet including myself who sustained gunshot wounds to the foot. Together with my other colleagues, we took to our heels for fear of being shot at. The land guards fired at us without hesitation,” Felix Akunnor told Citi News

“We were not armed so I find it difficult to understand why these land guards will behave in this manner. We were just visiting our site as any ordinary Ghanaian would do. The estate developer who sold that land to us is our brother so it is not like we bought the land illegally, “Felix Akunnor added.

According to Ebenezer Ahortor Assemblyman for the Danchera electoral area, the land guards have been terrorising residents of the area for years but several complaints to authorities have fallen on deaf ears.

He indicated that on several occasions he has lodged complaints of land guard attacks on developers at Danchera police station but all to no avail as a result of the lack of logistics on the part of the police in fighting crime Ebenezer Ahortor told Citi News.

“These landguards attacked some community members and I reported to the Divisional command. There is a military man in this area who has vowed to fight the menace and he woke up one morning with a coffin at his doorstep. Today they have attacked some construction workers killing one in the process and injuring three others.

“The command is doing its best but they don’t even have a vehicle to patrol. I want to tell the IGP to support this police station with vehicles for patrols.”

Source: CNR