The Ashanti Regional Police Command has released nine out of the 10 persons arrested at the Asawase Constituency, last Saturday.
One person, Awudu Sule, being held by the police, is helping the police in investigations.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Godwin Ahyiano, Head of the Command’s Public Affairs Unit, confirmed these to the Ghanaian Times, here, yesterday, but did not give details about Awudu’s detention for security reasons.
The anti-robbery squad of the command stormed Aboabo in the constituency, amid sporadic gunshots, on Saturday, and arrested the persons, who were said to be members of the campaign team of the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency, Alhaji Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Party.
It was not very clear what triggered the arrest of the members at Aboabo at about 10pm last Saturday.
The development resulted in tension in the constituency, which saw the MP leading members of the party to converge at the headquarters of the regional police command, on Sunday, to demand the release of those arrested.
Earlier, the Ghanaian Times gathered that a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) only known as “Jordan” led others to the party office of the MP and painted the entrance with the NPP colours, which did not go down well with the MP’s supporters.
That provoked the NDC members to react resulting in a confrontation that saw the NPP supporters filing away with a promise to return.
Reacting, the MP noted that they would be the last people to impede the work of the police because without them all Ghanaians were not safe “but the incessant repetition of this kind of arrest is our concern and worry”.
According to Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak, no charges had been preferred against those arrested.
He said, the police indicated that they were looking for a particular person whom he said “from a video clip shown me, the person was nowhere near the constituency”.
The MP said those arrested were members who had been going round pasting posters of the NDC and that they were no rabble rousers.
But, ASP Ahyiano stated that some suspected criminals were arrested to assist in investigations into recent criminal activities in the metropolis.
He said subsequent to the arrest, some persons claiming to be members of the NDC besieged the Suame Police Station to demand the release of their colleagues amid verbal and physical attack on some police personnel there.
ASP Ahyiano said the police have had a video clip of those who stormed the station and mentioned one Yakubu Tony Aidoo leading, as they banged the counter at the charge office.
He urged the public to remain calm and go about their duty without any fear as the police were on top of security.
FROM KINGSLEY E.HOPE, KUMASI
