3 NDC Machomen Arrested For Burning Machines

0

The suspects in police custody

A gang of three machomen believed to be members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) who stormed the collation centre of the Ablekuma North Constituency in Accra and set on fire the verification machines, statement papers, result sheets and others, have been arrested by the police.

The suspects, Mohammed Yidana, 37, Mohammed Ali, 31, and Rashid Moro, 32, were nabbed by a police enforcement team when they attempted to escape after the act.

However, both the parliamentary candidates of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) Justice Joe Appiah, and NDC?s Ras Mubarak, had denied knowing the suspects and accused each other of hiring the services of the men to commit the act.

Items burnt, according to the Returning Officer Owusu Nkansah, included six pieces of voter?s verification machines, a collation results sheets, and a parliamentary statement sheet of the polls.

Briefing DAILY GUIDE, Superintendent Baffour Apenteng, the Deputy Accra Regional Crime Officer said police received a distress call that a group had besieged the collation centre located at Kwasheiman cluster of schools in Ablekuma North and set the ballot papers and other electoral equipment ablaze.

When an enforcement team arrived at the scene, the three attempted to escape and so they were arrested.

Items found on them included a voltic mini bottle filled with petrol and matches which they used in committing the act.

The three, according to Superintendent Barffour Apenteng, were in police custody and would be sent to court today.

Meanwhile at the scene, the returning officer, Mr. Nkansah, told the paper that they were at the collation centre tabulating the results around 1:00pm when they realized that the results of a particular polling station out of the 164 centres was missing.

?We contacted the presiding officer for that polling station who claimed the ballot boxes were with him.

?The presiding officer later brought the ballot boxes with the excuse that he kept the ballots in his house for the night.

?In the presence of all the polling agents, the ballots were counted and in the course of the recounting, the three men came into the room threatening that that result will not be accepted, because it was not properly kept.

?While we were still there arguing about the ballots, the three set fire on them and burnt the papers.

?The police were called in to help and so the rest of the ballots were escorted to the Odorkor Police Station, while the three were arrested.?

Meanwhile, both candidates of the NPP and NDC have been invited to the Odorkor Police Station for questioning.

At the station, hundreds of supporters of both candidates gathered, making noise and creating confusing.

A team of military personnel were then invited to bring the situation under control.

By Linda Tenyah

Send your news stories to [email protected] Follow News Ghana on Google News

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here