Christian Tetteh Yohuno, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), has ordered the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to take over the probe involving the attempted mob attack on the Director of Operations of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) and his team.
According to the Police statement, Ebenezer Kwaku Addo, the Member of Parliament for the Asutifi North Constituency, has been invited to assist with the probe.
In a statement issued by the police read, “The Member of Parliament for Asutifi North, Hon. Ebenezer Kwaku Addo, who is alleged to have incited the mob and obstructed the NAIMOS team, has been invited to assist the ongoing investigation into the incident.
Preliminary investigation has established that on Saturday, 1st November 2025, the NAIMOS Director and his team intercepted illegal miners operating near Bronikrom in the Ahafo Region and arrested some suspects. Exhibits retrieved from them include a side-hang bag containing one (1) Smith & Wesson pistol, two (2) pistol magazines, twenty-one (21) rounds of 9mm ammunition, an unregistered Range Rover vehicle, an unregistered Toyota RAV4 vehicle and several mobile phones.
While the team were preparing to hand over the suspects to the Hwidiem Police Station, the MP reportedly arrived with a group of men and demanded their release. When his demand was refused, the group forcibly removed the suspects’ handcuffs and chased the NAIMOS team from the scene.
A mob numbering about 600, allegedly incited by the MP, later besieged the Hwidien Police Station, demanding the release of the miners and seized vehicles. The crowd vandalised the Director’s vehicle, damaged parts of the police station, and threatened to set it ablaze. Reinforcement teams from the Ahafo Regional Command were deployed to restore order and prevent further destruction”.
The statement added, “Calm was eventually restored through the joint efforts of the police, the military, and the Zongo Chief of Hwidiem, who helped mediate the situation and facilitate the safe evacuation of the NAIMOS team. The Chief’s vehicle was damaged during the process, but no injuries were reported.
On Saturday, November 1, 2025, the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS )’s crackdown on illegal mining in the Ahafo Region turned violent when officials narrowly escaped death in a mob attack.
NAIMOS officials were attacked by an angry mob in Hwediem in the Ahafo Region.
In a viral video on social media, armed police officers were spotted mounting a guard to protect the military officers amid the huge and agitated crowd.
Five of the officers were escorted into a packed 4×4 vehicle, which had reportedly been vandalised by the angry galamseyers.
The information gathered suggests the mob attack followed the soldiers’ discovery of an illegal mining site at Bronikrom near Hwidiem, where they stormed the location, arresting the site owner, confiscating two vehicles, mobile phones and two pistols and setting fire to some wooden structures and mining equipment belonging to the owner.
NAIMOS’s raid reportedly provoked some residents numbering over 600 who stormed the Hwidiem Police Station, where the soldiers had gone to lodge an official complaint.
The crowd demanded the instant release of the two seized vehicles and insisted that the police hand over the soldiers for discipline.
Joy News, Journalist Erastus Asare Donkor has revealed that Member of Parliament for Asutifi North, Hon. Ebenezer Kwaku Addo, was at the scene with several thugs.
According to the MP for Asutifi North, he was directed by Hon Collins Dauda, the MP for the area, who demanded that the Director release the arrested galamsey kingpins, including a Burkinabe.
The director, however, politely declined the unlawful request.
He asserted that the arrests were appropriate and that the right procedure was followed through to the Police.
After the rejection of the MP’s demand, the MP and his thugs became violent and forcefully snatched the handcuff keys from one of the soldiers.
See the police statement below:
