Police 'brutalize innocent’ Boltech students over clash

Some students of Bolgatanga Technical Institute (Boltech) say they were subjected to physical abuse by police officers who were deployed to restore calm following a clash between two groups in the school.

The clash broke out between students from two tribes on Monday night in what has been described as protracted tribal combat where five of the student got hurt in the process.

The latest clash was characterized by the firing of gunshots which eventually led to a temporal closure of the school.

Reports say the clash is counted among the many tribal and ethnic conflicts the school has recorded over the years.

Zakaria Yerosi, Headmaster of the school told SN24 News that was “It was a clash between the Frafra tribe from Bolgatanga and the Kosasi from Bawku.

Speaking on the issue of the brutalities, a student (name withheld) said the vicious police have physically assaulted many of the students with the rationale that they were the cause of the fracas meanwhile the real perpetrators had fled.

“They asked us to go into our dormitories and off the lights and we complied. They (police) came into the dormitories and were beating us one after the other. It was serious and very bad because those of us who were in the dormitories were not even the perpetrators. Those who caused the mayhem were near the school and did not come to the dormitories. So we think it was not fair,” the victims stated.

The school is expected to reopen in the next two weeks.

James Adombire, Upper East Region