The threats follow a failed attempt by the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) to demolish the slum structures under GRIDCO pylons last week, which was halted due to logistical constraints. The illegal occupants accuse school authorities of pressuring the RCC to carry out the demolition.

Earlier, the RCC had marked the illegally constructed wooden shelters beneath the power pylons for demolition by June 2, 2025.

However, after the demolition notice expired, the authorities reportedly attempted to enforce the order, prompting the violent threats.

Abdulraheem Mohammed, Secretary of the Haqqul Mubeen Institute (a stakeholder in the school’s PTA), confirmed that the threats were issued in retaliation against the demolition efforts.

“The equipment to be used for the demolition also delayed so they couldn’t complete the activity. We also learnt that some political forces came in and stopped the work,” he said.

Mr. Mohammed added, “The slum dwellers gathered in front of the school and started issuing threats, claiming the school has instigated the demolition of the slum. They said they will attack the staff and students.”

According to authorities, police intervention was required to restore calm and prevent the slum dwellers from carrying out their threats against the students.

Located a safe distance from the pylons is the Ghana Lebanon Islamic Secondary School, which has operated for about two decades.

Authorities report that a series of armed robbery incidents have occurred at the school since the slum emerged.

Mr. Mohammed expressed concern about the illegal activities taking place in the slum.

“Somewhere last week, there was an altercation between some of the people in the slum and it resulted in gunshots. If it has gotten to an extent that these people can use guns in this area, then the school and the environs are not safe,” he emphasised.

Over the years, demolition attempts targeting the illegal structures in the area have consistently failed.

Several months ago, a devastating fire swept through the slum – an incident many believed would mark its end. However, the settlement persisted.

Following the June 5, 2024, fire outbreak, the Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) issued warnings and banned construction beneath its power pylons. Yet these measures have produced minimal results.

The Haqqul Mubeen Institute continues to pressure the government to take decisive action against these unlawful activities.

The fire, which broke out late last Wednesday afternoon at the area popularly called ECOMOG, destroyed 300 out of the 450 structures located in the area, with firemen managing to save 150 structures.

“Our team is currently at the scene to continue with investigations to ascertain the actual cause of the fire but preliminary investigations suggest that somebody was cooking and left the gas stove unattended to and that led to this fire,” the Deputy National Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the GNFS,  Divisional Officer (DO III), Desmond Ackah, said.

The situation caused a power outage in Adabraka, New Town and surrounding communities.  This is the second fire in that area in two years after a similar incident in February 2022 that led to an unsuccessful evacuation order.

Fire incident

The GNFS PRO stated the service received a distress call around 3:35 p.m so it quickly deployed fire engines which arrived at the scene at exactly 5:43 p.m. Upon arrival, he said, it was realised that the fire was already out of hand, thus, the service had to deploy four additional fire engines.

However, DO Ackah said because a majority of the structures in the area were made of wood, they aided in the combustion, making it difficult for the fire to be easily contained.
Looking at the nature of the area too, he said, getting access to the seat of the fire was a huge challenge.

Additionally, he said due to the nature of the area, getting access to a fire hydrant was another challenge and the fire engines had to move to Kwame Nkrumah Circle and around the Ghana Revenue Authority to refill.

That notwithstanding, he said the firemen were able to douse the fire around  10:57 p.m that same night.

DO III Ackah said although there were no casualties, one person could not be accounted for. “During the fire fighting, we received information that some people could not be accounted for and, therefore, we had to do a thorough search to ascertain that but as of this morning, we are getting reports that they have not been able to find one person so our team is on the ground to continue with thorough investigation,” he told the Daily Graphic in an interview yesterday.

Relocation

The fire, DO Ackah indicated, had displaced many people. He, therefore, called on authorities to move in and assist the victims.If possible, he said, all the people there should be relocated and given proper shelter somewhere else as the place was still not safe for settlement.

Other than that, he said, security in the area should be beefed up to prevent the reoccurrence of the fire incident. “In places like this, illegal connection is very rife and all sorts of illegal activities go on there, which is largely unchecked and if we don’t find a lasting solution to this, I will not be surprised that we will have another fire in the next foreseeable days which might probably be devastating than this,” he said.

Until then, he said the service would periodically move into the area to educate them on fire safety. Meanwhile, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Titus Glover, has visited the area to assess the situation.

He has issued a stern warning to settlers against rebuilding their structures. He stated that anyone attempting to rebuild would be arrested and assured that enforcement measures would be in place to ensure compliance.

“We don’t want to have any third fire; therefore, they should prepare to leave. We will make sure we put men on the ground to ensure nobody lives here. Anyone who tries to rebuild a structure here will be arrested,” he cautioned.

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