The Ashanti Regional Security Council (ARSC) has issued a stern warning to residents of Kumasi and its surrounding areas, urging them to refrain from hiring land guards to resolve land disputes.
The ARSC’s statement highlights increasing concerns over the surge in illegal activities perpetrated by land guards in the region.
In a communiqué dated June 20, the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council (ARCC) advised individuals to follow legal procedures to settle their land issues. The ARCC emphasized that those who engage the services of land guards will face severe consequences.
“Any person found to engage the services of land guards will be apprehended, prosecuted, and arraigned before court,” the statement declared. The Council also warned that the land guards themselves would not be spared and would face the full force of the law.
The ARSC stressed the importance of using appropriate legal channels to address land disputes, noting that the activities of land guards often result in violence and pose a threat to law-abiding citizens.
“Based on this fact, the Ashanti Regional Security Council requests all citizens in the region to use the right procedures to address their land disputes rather than employ the use of land guards whose activities always threaten law-abiding citizens and result in violence,” the statement read.
The Council urged the public to adhere strictly to this directive to ensure peace and stability in the region.
“It is the expectation of the Regional Security Council that the public will accept the above directives for strict compliance to ensure peace in the region,” the ARSC concluded.
The rule of law in some communities in the country has been sidelined when it comes to land disputes. Land guards are contracted by individuals who do not believe in the legal system or who seek to capture lands belonging to others.
These land guards often inflict pain on individuals and in some cases push them to their early graves. The Police Service is working assiduously to nip the activities of land guards in the bud.