Kidnappings: Ghana gov’t assures diplomats of safety despite fears

Government is assuring representatives of foreign missions in the country of their safety, in spite of the recent kidnappings and abduction being reported in some parts of the country.

A government delegation led by the National Security Minister, Albert Kan-Dapaah, on Wednesday met with the diplomatic community on safety measures.

The meeting followed the successful operation by state security apparatus to the rescue of two Canadian women, Lauren Patricia Catherine Tilley,19, and Bailey Jordan Chitty, 20, from their captors in Kumasi earlier in the day.

They had been abducted on June 4, when they were whisked into a vehicle just when they alighted from an Uber cab at the Kumasi Royal Golf Club at 8:25 p.m.

Two University of New Brunswick students had been in the country some weeks earlier volunteering with a non-governmental organisation.

Later in the day, Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, briefed the media to provide further details on how the operation was carried out.

At least 10 suspects have been arrested including three Nigerians. Another Nigerian is on the run, the Information Minister said.

Oppong Nkrumah said both women were getting support from professionals and that they were physically unhurt.

The entire operation he stressed, was executed by a team of professional security officials drawn from the Bureau for National Investigations and the counter-terrorism squad.

Before that briefing, the delegation led by the Security Minister also used the opportunity to assure the diplomatic community of the general preparedness of the security agencies to deal with all kinds of crime.