NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LAW STUDENTS

7th October, 2019

PRESS RELEASE
1. Today witnessed a moment in history. Students of the Ghana School of Law, 14 Law
Faculties and many well-meaning sympathizers converged at the forecourt of the Ghana
School of Law and marched in protest of the poor handling of legal education by the
General Legal Council. This peaceful protest followed a notification sent to the Greater
Accra Regional Police Command on 27th September, 2019, in compliance with Section
1 of the Public Order Act.

2. As communicated to the police in our letter, we marched from the Ghana School of Law
to the High Court Complex; through to the Attorney General’s Department where we
presented our petition. The Deputy Attorney General, Godfred Dame upon receipt of our
petition addressed us.

3. We proceeded to the office of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) where the President of
GBA, Mr. Tony Forson upon receipt of our petition also addressed us. From the GBA
office, we headed to the Jubilee House with the intention of presenting a petition to the
President.

4. We had earlier requested meetings with Former Presidents of the Republic. At the GBA
office, we met Former President John Mahama and sought to present our petition to him.
However, he advised that we come to his office as arranged.

5. Upon arrival at the Ako Adjei interchange, officers of the Ghana Police Service armed to
the teeth blocked the road leading to the Jubilee House with their armored cars and water
cannons in a war like situation. One of the leaders approached the Greater Accra Police
Commander, DCOP Frederick Adu Anim and his officers to enquire the reasons for the
road block. The police indicated they wanted the demonstrators to move to one side of the
road. The leaders of the demonstration calmed down the demonstrators and tried to
negotiate with the Regional Commander to allow our leaders to go to the Jubilee House
and present our petition to the Presidency.

6. The Greater Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Frederick Adu Anim vehemently
refused and ordered his men to shoot into the crowd and disperse us with water cannons,
tear gas and canes. The officers complied with his order. The police used brutal force;
spraying students with water from their water cannons, shooting students with rubber
 bullets. Students had no option but to run for their lives. Some students sustained various
degrees of injuries from the rubber bullets and canes used by the police. Some students
also had to be rushed to the hospital for medical treatment. The use of tear gas by the police
also triggered one female student’s asthmatic attack. Some journalists were also injured in
the process.

7. 9 leaders of the demonstration including the SRC President of the Ghana School of Law,
Mr. Jonathan Alua were violently arrested by the police and detained for several hours
without any formal charges.

8. The Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Abu Jinapor who was on his way to the
Jubilee House witness this unlawful use of force by the police. He told the police to allow
us to come by the Jubilee House and present our petition but the police refused.

9. Students had to run to the Canadian High Commission to seek protection from police
brutality. The police chased us with their water cannons, sprayed students with water even
when students had converged peacefully in front of the Canadian High Commission.

10. At the Canadian High Commission, the leadership presented a copy of our petition to a
Representative of the Commission. We appreciate the warm reception of the Canadian
High Commission.

11. We proceeded to the office of the former President John Mahama where we presented a
copy of our petition to him and he addressed us.

12. We wish to place on record our utter disappointment and disgust at the conduct of the
Ghana Police Service. The unlawful, brutal and excessive use of force in preventing
unarmed law students exercising their right to demonstrate must be condemned in no
uncertain terms by all well-meaning Ghanaians.

13. Our attention has also been drawn to the LIES contained in a statement released by the
Police following today’s incident.

14. We wish to place on record that

i. Students who demonstrated today were not ‘failed’ students but concerned law
students, some of whom passed this year’s Ghana School of Law entrance exams.
ii. Students peacefully converged at the forecourt of the Ghana School of law in the
morning. No student sat on the streets of Makola nor blocked traffic.
iii. No student threw stones nor used offensive weapons at the police. We entreat the
general public to watch videos of today’s brutality which have gone viral so they
can attest to the reckless and disgraceful conduct of the police. At no point did any
student provoke the police to warrant this unwarranted use of excessive force.
 15. The least the police can do is to render an unqualified apology to all law students who
embarked on this demonstration peacefully; especially our colleagues who are seeking
medical treatment for the various injuries sustained.

16. We must put on record once again that the leadership of National Association of Law
Students notified the police of this demonstration on 27th September, 2019 (10 clear days
ahead of the demonstration) and followed up with a meeting with the Greater Accra
Regional Police Command led by DCOP Frederick Adu Anim on 2nd October, 2019.

17. We are therefore calling on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the Police Council
and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to
thoroughly investigate this brutal attack on innocent Ghanaians and take appropriate
disciplinary actions against any police officer found culpable in this shameful
conduct.

18. We also wish to thank all law students across the country, the Coalition for National
Sovereignty, the Tax Payers Union and the Economic Fighters League for coming out in
their numbers to fight the systemic injustice meted out to law students. We are also grateful
to lawyers, Kofi Bentil, Lenin Anane Adjei, Nana Oye Lithur and Martin Kpebu for their
assistance.

19. The time for Legal Education Reform is NOW!!!!

ISSUED BY THE LEADERSHIP OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LAW

STUDENTS.