The Progressive Intellectuals (PI) has strongly condemned the recent acts of hooliganism and lawlessness in the aftermath of the declaration of the 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary election results.
The group, made up of academics and intellectuals from various universities in Ghana, expressed concern over videos and camera footage circulating on social media and mainstream media showing individuals and groups breaking into state institutions and looting properties.
In a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by Professor Yunus Dumbe, PI President, highlighted the disturbing rise in post-election violence, noting, that these actions reflected a growing sense of lawlessness in the country.
“Such footages have been trending on social media, portraying a dimension of lawlessness creeping into our society,” the statement read.
The PI also raised concerns about what they described as a leadership vacuum in both the political and security sectors, with state institutions being left vulnerable to attack.
The statement questioned the efficacy of the security agencies, pointing out that while attention was focused on election collation centres, there was insufficient action to prevent the criminal activities occurring in the aftermath of the election.
“While the overall motives of these hooligans have been to loot state properties, their activities have portrayed a leadership vacuum from both the political authority and the security agencies.
“It is interesting to ask; who is in charge of managing the country’s security situation?” the PI asked.
Despite appeals from both the sitting President and the President-elect to the youth to refrain from violence, looting, and the destruction of state property, the PI noted with alarm that such actions have persisted without intervention.
The group expressed concern over the political blame game that had followed those incidents, with some political parties attributing the criminal actions to one another.
It condemned the politicisation of criminal activities and said that crime should not have any political colour.
“It is clear that criminals are capitalizing on the post-election leadership vacuum to create a sense of insecurity in parts of Ghana,” the statement noted.
The PI has called on all Ghanaians to take responsibility for securing their communities and safeguarding state properties.
They urged citizens to form sub-committees to monitor and protect public assets and to help restore security in their localities.
“We want to use this opportunity to appeal to all Ghanaians to form sub-committees to safeguard state properties and provide measures of security in their respective communities to avoid criminals’ hijacking the situation,” the statement said.
