University Of Ghana Report On The Committee Of Enquiry Into The Disturbances Of 13th January, 1978: An Account Of The Events
July 28, 2026
Transcript
University of Ghana
March 23, 1978
CHAPTER ONE
THE NATURE OF THE EVENTS OF 13TH JANUARY, 1978 AND THE BACKGROUND THERETO
SECTION 1 – AN ACCOUNT OF THE EVENTS
Part 1 – Events of 12th January, 1978
The National Union of Ghana Students held its Congress at Legon from the second to the seventh of January, 1978. At the Congress a resolution was passed declaring Friday, 13th January, 1978 as “Ghana’s Day of Shame’, and it was agreed to organise activities in visible demonstration of the spirit of the resolution.
Two alternatives were considered. The first was a proposal not to observe the public holiday but rather to attend classes, As, however, it required at least two parties – students and lecturers to organise classes, and in the belief that the lecturers would not “co-operate”, this proposal was dropped.
It was then agreed to organise a symposium on each campus on Thursday, 12th January, to be followed by processions on Friday, 13th January, 1978. Each University’s Students’ Representative Council was left free to organise locally the details of the symposium and procession.
For the symposium at Legon which was held in the fore-court of the Central Cafeteria in the evening of Thursday, 12th January, 1978 at about 8.30 p.m., four members of the academic staff were approached to speak. Three of these, who were to talk generally on the contemporary scene in Ghana, declined the invitation. The only member of the academic staff who attended, Dr. P.A.V. Ansah, threatened to leave on realising that he was the only Senior Member present. He was eventually persuaded to stay on by the students, who substituted some of their own members for the three absent Senior Members.
Mr. J.P. Owusu-Ansah, a student, was the first to address the meeting. According to the evidence, he spoke about the general political situation, and urged students to be responsible in their actions, always examining themselves before seeking to criticize outsiders.
Dr. Paul Ansah was next to speak, his topic being ‘The Press since 1972.” He had hardly spoken for twenty minutes when pandemonium broke loose. Some students seized a man who was suspected to be an “informant”, and demanded satisfaction as to his identity. The meeting broke up in confusion at about 9.30 p.m. without Dr. Ansah completing his address. The suspect, a Mr. Awuah, was eventually released at about 10.30p.m. after he had been taken to Akuafo Hall, where the Porter on duty, Mr. P.A. Klusey, identified him as a former student of the Hall, now a legal practitioner in Kumasi. So ended the activities of Thursday, January 12th, 1978.
Part II Events of 13th January, 1978
A. Procession to the Gate
At about 8.00 a.m. on 13th January, the student procession organised for this day began from Commonwealth Hall. The procession, at this stage only some 30 strong in number, marched to Volta Hall. An improvised coffin which, according to the testimony of the students was made from pieces of ply-wood by the students themselves, with pictures of the Head of State pasted round it, was being carried by some members of the procession. Some of the students wore strips of mourning cloth on their wrists to symbolise a state of mourning. At Volta Hall the group stopped for a few minutes chanting and inviting residents of the Hall to join in. The procession then moved through chanting and inviting to the fore-court of the Central Legon Hall to Mensah Sarbah Hall, and from there the procession was gaining strength in numbers, and by the time Cafeteria. Along its route a.m. and 9.00 a.m. it was it reached the fore-court of the Central Cafeteria between 8.30 estimated at about 1,000-1,500. and after “the achievements and At the Central Cafeteria mournful hymns were sung, the Government had been recounted, the Secretary of the Students’ failures” of the procession: the Representative Council briefed the gathering on the plans for coffin to the Main Gate of the University, and there procession would march with the “end” was burn it after funeral rites had been performed for the Head of State, whose being symbolised by the burning of the coffin. Hall. At about 9.20 a.m. the procession moved towards the Main Gate through Akuafo Hall.
B. Events at the Gate
According to the evidence received, by 8.30 a.m. on Friday, 13th January, steel-helmeted policemen, carrying truncheons and wicker-shields, had already massed up in front of the Legon Police Station. This police presence was very much in evidence when the student procession arrived at the Main Gate at about 9.45 a.m., and settled in the space between the Main Gate and the highway, A number of placards were being carried by students. Some read:-
(i) Ghana’s Day of Shame – January 13th;
(ii) Yellow Corn for Civilians, White Corn for Soldiers;
(iii) Oil or No Oil, Kutu must go;
(iv) Police Don’t Shoot, You too are suffering.
By the side of the coffin were some wailing female students who were ostensibly playing the role of widows distraught with grief. In spite of the size of the crowd, traffic still flowed in and out of the University, albeit at a slower pace. Students would flag motorists entering or leaving the campus to slow down, and request them to toot their horns. On this demand being met, the students” would yell out in approval, and the vehicle would then proceed. The coffin was first placed at the end of the pond facing the Gate, but was later transferred to the side of the pond nearer the Police Station. According to a student witness, this was done in order to bring it closer to the main road and attract greater public attention.
Whilst the students were organising what they claimed to be the final phase of their “peaceful, internal demonstration”, a military vehicle, variously described as “a task force truck” and “an army jeep” was seen speeding out of the campus and through the crowd at about 10.30 a.m. Apparently incensed by the recklessness of the driver, who demolished a stop sign as he drove over the grass on to the main road, some students hurled stones at the vehicle.
After this diversion the students re-addressed themselves to the task in hand, namely the paying of “last respect to the departed.” Prayers were offered, and the “body” (i.e. coffin) “cremated’ (i.e. set ablaze).
During this time students distributed hand-outs to vehicles at the bus stop on the University side of the road. Later some students crossed the main road to distribute these hand-outs to vehicles on their way from Accra, but there was no interference with traffic along the main road.
The organised activities at the gate, intended to portray a very solemn occasion – the “burial”/cremation” of the Head of State – were interspersed by incidents of frivolity amongst the students. This exhibition of levity took various forms, including the staging of a mock police drill by a few students who marched up and down between the Gate and the main road, under the command of an “officer” or “sergeant major”. There were shouts of Zombie, Left! Right! Halt!”
An eye-witness watching this scene from the Madina side of the Police Station described it as “most entertaining – a Charlie Chaplin type of display.” According to this witness, wives of policemen based at the Legon Police Station were also watching and apparently enjoying the displays.
The policemen themselves did not appear, however, to be in any mood for frivolity, and some were seen waving their truncheons menacingly at the students, while others were heard to shout at the students inviting them to join the police ranks if they were “proper policemen.”
Tension appeared to have been mounting by now. More police reinforcements were arriving. These latter batches wore no numbers on their uniforms. A few stones were hurled by some students at an Army Peugeot car with a lady passenger in it, and a police car, both travelling northwards towards Aburi.
On at least two occasions before 11 o’clock a number of students would burst away from the Main Gate and run into the campus when the police appeared to be moving into attack, but on realising that the feared police move was a feint, they would return to the Gate and continue with their singing.
At about 11.00 a.m., two armoured cars came racing from Accra towards Madina. The Police were seen to be clearing spectators from the lawn in front of the Police Station. Fearing that some excited students would, cross the main road, Mr. J.P. Owusu-Ansah, a student of journalism who was taking photographs of the scene, tried to prevent his colleagues from getting on to the main road. He did see students running back into the campus, but with his back to the Police he had not seen the latter charge in earnest. The first policeman to get to him left him alone when he described himself as a pressman. A second policeman was not, however, impressed by his claim. He hit Mr. Owusu-Ansah on the head with his truncheon and about half a dozen others also joined in the beating. Bathed in blood, and still being beaten, Mr. Owusu-Ansah was dragged to the Police Station at about 11.15 a.m.
After the arrest of Mr Owusu-Ansah and some other students at the Gate, the Police retreated to the front of the Police Station. A number of students also returned to the area of the pond and began throwing stones at the Police, who also retaliated by throwing stones. After a few such exchanges, the Police decided to charge again. The Police had at no time since the students appeared at the Gate warned the students that they would attack if they did not disperse.
C. The Police Invasion in the Morning
The armoured cars that had raced towards Madina had turned back and driven into the campus, providing cover for the steel-helmeted policemen who were trudging behind them. Most of them were holding truncheons and wicker shields; a few carried rifles. Students took to flight in all directions, but most made for the nearest buildings, these being the Faculty of Agriculture, Akuafo Hall and its Annexes, and the Annexes to Mensah Sarbah Hall. The Police were not contented with merely dispersing the students, but chased them into the buildings, beating all and sundry within reach. In the Faculty of Agriculture, the guard on duty was severely beaten up, and the Dean. of the Faculty, who happened to arrive at the time was ordered out of his car and narrowly missed being bashed with truncheons. In Akuafo Hall the Police beat up female cooks in the kitchen, clerks serving meal tickets, a bar attendant as well as students. A group of students of the Christian Fellowship organisation engaged in a religious exercise in the Hall Chapel were placed under arrest and marched out. They were eventually enabled to escape through the intervention of a Porter. Some time later, the Police returned to the Porters Lodge and started questioning the Porter. In the course of the questioning, a policeman threw a tear gas grenade directly at the Porter. Engulfed in smoke, the blinded Porter crawled into an adjoining room and hid there until the Police retired.
To gain access into student rooms the Police broke glass windows, slashed wire gauzes and forced wooden doors open. Tear gas was used generously to smoke students out of rooms and the rising smoke could be seen from a distance.
Students had set up road blocks in the forlorn hope that they would stop Police vehicular movements, but the armoured cars passed through these with ease. Students who were smoked out of their rooms were chased to the hockey pitch where they were beaten up. A witness saw a lady stripped naked on the hockey pitch being beaten up. The Police net was spread very wide. A sanitary labourer having a meal at the Estate Yard was pounced upon and beaten up. At the Main Gate, the Police entered the Office of the Guards and bludgeoned them, the Police involved offering the explanation to the guards that their failure to lock the Gate to prevent the students from running into the q campus was evidence of their support for the students, and that for their conduct they more than deserved the treatment given them. A worker who was typing in the Institute of Adult Education paid a heavy price for his curiosity. He walked out barefooted to ascertain the cause of the noise outside, and was spotted by the Police. As most students had removed their sandals to facilitate their flight, the Police immediately classified this worker as a student and pounced on him: “Look him foot, Ibi one”” He was not spared. At about 1.00 p.m., the Police retired from the campus.
D. The Police Account
According to a Ghana Broadcasting Corporation News Bulletin of 17th January, 1978, Mr. Omane, Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Greater Accra Region, gave the following account of what happened at the campus on 13th January, 1978 to the Managing Editor of the People’s Evening News:
He said the Police had information that the students were rioting for no apparent reason other than an ill-conceived motive. Mr. Omane said at first the Police thought it was a normal student agitation but later on they realised that the students’ behaviour was getting out of hand. Innocent people including motorists plying the Accra-Dodowa road were molested by the students. Mr. Omane said this situation caused the Police to move into action to maintain Law and order. All of a sudden the students rushed to Legon Police Station and attacked the constables on duty there. Soon after this, three powerful bomb explosions were heard at the campus of the University. Mr. Omane said these were in fact the work of the students. And at this stage, the Police decided to contain the situation by driving away the students from the Police Station to the campus.
This account, which to the Committee’s knowledge has not been repudiated by Mr. Omane, is at variance with the evidence received by the Committee in several respects.
As narrated in sub-section B of Part II above, apart from the two incidents of stone-throwing at a police vehicle and an army Peugeot car, which were heading towards Madina, the evidence was conclusive that vehicular traffic along the main road was not interfered with. Moreover the Police had been in position in front of the Police Station by 8.30 a.m. If, as claimed, the Police had prior information that the students were “rioting for no apparent reason other than an ill-conceived motive”, and the Police had come “to restore law and order”, and if, as alleged, the students were molesting innocent people plying the Accra-Dodowa road, there is need for an explanation as to why the Police did not make any move “to restore law and order” for about two hours. Again the students are alleged to have rushed to the Legon Police Station and attacked the constables on duty there. With the numbers of steel-helmeted truncheon-bearing policemen in front of the Police Station, it is difficult to imagine unarmed students rushing into attack at the Police Station. Evidence in refutation of Mr. Omane’s allegations was received not only from students and lecturers, but also from members of the public who actually passed along the main road that morning.
Yet again, three powerful “bomb” explosions were allegedly heard on the campus after the students had “attacked” the Police Station. These explosions are alleged to have taken place on the campus while the students were demonstrating at the Gate. There were, at least, three explosions on the campus, but this was long before the police charge. The first had been inside Akuafo Hall. The second exploded in front of the Bank when the student procession was moving towards the Main Gate. A non-student eye-witness actually saw a student light something in his hand and throw it away, and moments later, there was an explosion. Near the Main Gate itself, there was another explosion. In the words of another witness “thunder flashes or Christmas rockets let off in a procession of students could not have been meant for causing harm, and could not be described as “bombs”.
E. The Kidnapping of the Policeman
Earlier, when the students saw the Police beat and arrest Mr. J.P. Owusu-Ansah, some of them hit upon the idea of seizing the constable guarding the Bank premises and holding him hostage. Surprisingly, this decision was successfully executed without difficulty. The kidnapped policeman, divested of his upper garments and cap, and relieved of his rifle, was being led away in the direction of Commonwealth Hall by a crowd of students. They just passed Legon Hall when his captors, on hearing the siren of an approaching armoured car, quickly swung to the left and entered Legon Hall with their prey through the kitchen service entrance, which was then open. The captive was taken to Room E.15 and locked up. Threatening words being uttered from outside were overheard by the captive, who broke the window and jumped out. But he was recaptured almost immediately and transported by car into a store room of the discotheque of Commonwealth Hall.
It is uncertain when the Police heard about the kidnapping, but from various testimonies received it would appear that the Police were unaware of the kidnapping until about noon. The first two armoured cars that led the invasion had driven only as far as to the circle between the Bookshop and the Economics Department and turned back. About four minutes later, they returned to the campus, this time getting as far as to the circle between Volta and Legon Halls. On neither occasion did they stop at the Bank area to check on the policeman, and every indication was that their main interest was to frighten students.
Some time later, around noon, the armoured cars entered the campus for the third time. On this occasion one drove towards the Ford Foundation Guest Flats. The other went between the Post Office and the School of Administration, passed in front of Volta Hall, and then turned back to the Main Gate, where it stopped for about ten minutes. From this reconnaissance it appears that the Police had, by then, got to know about the kidnapping.
F. The Second Police Invasion of 13th January
With the withdrawal of the Police from Akuafo Hall and its environs around 1.00 p.m., many members of the University heaved a sigh of relief. A few daring ones even settled down at Akuafo Hall to discuss, over a pint or two of beer, their experiences of the morning, little suspecting that a more serious Police attack was in the offing.
At about 3.45 p.m., the Police again invaded the campus. The campus was littered with armoured cars, B.M.W. cars and truncheon-bearing policemen. By now the Police had. apparently come to believe that their kidnapped colleague had been murdered. In this belief the Police had come with a message of vengeance, and as they did not know where to find the body the entire campus was their arena. This second invasion was so total in its spread and intensity that space will not permit a detailed cataloguing of the incidents. For convenience only the main areas of activity will be listed:-
(i) The Main Gate and its Surrounds
Persons going in and out of the University were stopped and beaten up. Those in cars were ordered or pulled out and some were put under arrest and taken to the Police Station.
(ii) Akuafo Hall and its Environs
This Hall was the scene of another attack in the afternoon. Apart from student rooms, Police broke into the flats of lecturers, beating them up and destroying their property.
(iii) Volta Hall
A contingent of policemen, apparently on their way to Commonwealth Hall, were offended by shouts of “Zombie!” from Volta Hall and diverted their course into that Hall to beat up the persons there.
(iv) Commonwealth Hall
The Police appeared to have got information that the kidnapped policeman was taken to Commonwealth Hall, and special attention was therefore given to this Hall.
(v) The Ford Foundation Guest Flats
Persons in these guest houses, including foreign visitors, were attacked.
(vi) The Central Cafeteria
A stone broke some louvre blades in the Cafeteria. The Cafeteria staff were overcome by tear gas which was used.
(vii) Mensah Sarbah Hall
Like the others, this Hall was invaded. A cry of “Kill am, ino die finish” was heard coming from some of the policemen.
(viii) The Playing Fields
Several students had moved out of their Halls to the playing fields. Armoured cars were used to attack these students, and there is evidence of a single student being chased by two armoured cars. Several students were caught in this charge, mercilessly clubbed and then herded into a police bus which had parked on the Achimota road directly below the University Guest Flats. Apart from the armoured cars, tear gas was used to disperse the students.
(ix) The Telephone Exchange
The Police broke into the Telephone Exchange and attacked the staff there. Two female operators, one of whom was in the toilet, were beaten up. A male Test Clerk of the Posts and Telecommunications Corporation was also beaten up. These workers had to seek refuge elsewhere, and for the rest of the day Legon could not be contacted by telephone.
G. The Technique of Beating
At the time he appeared before the Committee two weeks after the event, an employee of the University had still not regained full sight in one eye after being slapped several times in the face. The slap, however, was the most lenient form of assault employed by the Police. Generally, the weapon used was the truncheon, though some iron rods were also observed; and the areas of the body concentrated on were the head, shoulders, abdomen, waist and the joints. Some who fell were kicked and trampled under foot. The same techniques had been used during the attack in the morning. The pattern would seem to have been for several policemen to attack a victim at once. Superior Police Officers looked on unmoved while the savage beating went on, and in some cases Officers ordered the constables to “finish” their victims. A lady Senior Member who was beaten up had the shock of her life when her protestations were ignored by a superintending officer who had been her class-mate in the University.
H. The Generality of the Attack
Even more so than in the morning, this second attack was marked with such frenzy that it was a real rampage. It began with the Police cordoning off the campus and permitting no one to enter or leave. Clothes on drying lines were torn to pieces. Students, Ghanaian and expatriate lecturers and professors, workers and visitors to the campus all had their share of the police “treatment” if they were unlucky to be spotted and reached. Indeed any person on the main road suspected to be a member of the University was arrested, beaten up, and held in the Police Station. Included among these was an R.A.F. pilot going from Accra to Aburi with his sister and fiancee. Although in most cases the Police would ask whether one was a student or lecturer, the answer made no difference to their next move. Students were beaten up for their “nonsense” and obstinacy in not supporting the Government, and the Police repeatedly said angrily that the students had killed a policeman. Workers were beaten up for “siding” with the students. In the case of lecturers their sin was that they did not teach the students “sense.” These explanations were offered by the Police themselves in the course of the beatings, and they were given to victims by different policemen in different parts of the campus.
I. Acts of Indecency
A written statement by a witness who saw two young girls assaulted at about 5.00 p.m. reads in part as follows:-
Some policemen, at least three, raced up to them and began to beat them with their truncheons about their legs and buttocks. They then forced them in the direction of African Studies where some police cars were parked. The attack was unprovoked, brutal and contained strong elements of sexual assault. That is, while marching the girls over to the police cars, the police were handling them unnecessarily and frequently.
Some women who had been stripped naked were seen on the playing fields. Others in similar condition were seen lying in a police bus which was conveying arrested men and women to the Police Station. Indeed more than one witness in police custody at the time told the Committee that some women arrived at the Police Station practically naked. The worst incidents were in Commonwealth Hall. There was testimony that some female visitors to that Hall were lined up, stripped naked, marched into a police van and “raped” with truncheons.
J. Police Attitude to Injured Persons
In the morning the Police had, with reluctance, agreed to have serious cases treated in the University Hospital. In the afternoon, however, the story was different. Several times the Police firmly refused to have wounded persons taken to the hospital. Some injured persons were told to bleed to death. Consequently, it was some time before some of the injured could be attended by a doctor.
K. Experiences at the Legon Police Station
We cannot do better here than to give a general picture by quoting from a few of the statements received:-
No.1
When we got to the Police Station there were already a lot of policemen t the entrance and each decided to beat me as hard as he could. I collapsed and I was left there until a jeep came later to convey us to the Police Station where I was given an injection. Back at the Police Station, I saw two students who had just returned from the hospital slapping each other in front of the entrance. I passed quickly in and I was asked to undress except my underpant, after which I was pushed in a cell. There were already some students in the cell. About 3.00 a.m. we were asked to come out to write statements. We had not taken lunch nor supper. After the statements we entered the cell again, about 29 of us in a room which could take at the most 5. From then on no medical treatment was given to us though we had wounds to be treated.
No. 2
I was driven to the Legon Police Station but my condition was such that I was sent, alongside with some other students, to the Police Headquarters at Cantonments. The doctors expressed a desire to admit me but this was speedily overruled by the Police Officer who was in charge of the escorts who accompanied us. The doctors were able to stem the bleeding, gave me some drugs and told the police to send us back for further treatment first thing the next day. We were then driven back to the Police Station (Legon) and locked up in the cells alongside 18 other students. The following day, although I repeatedly re- minded them, the police flatly refused to send me to the hospital and also denied me access to the drugs I was given the previous day. I remained in the cells from Friday, the 13th till Tuesday the 17th of January. I wasn’t allowed to have a bath all these days and was even denied the use of chewing stick.
No.3
We were taken to the Police Hospital for dressing. From the hospital we were given the most severe beating by both A.S.Ps and constables. A plain-clothed policeman gave Joe Appiah and myself heavy slaps and ordered us to exchange slaps. One weak slap was not accepted and he slapped back. to show how hard to slap.
No.4
One Police Officer said we should be killed because the students had killed one policeman. Even when we had been put behind the “counter-back” the police were still beating us. By 6.30 the Station was so crowded that they decided to put some of us into cell. The police later brought all of us out including those arrested in the morning. We started writing our statements at about 2.00 a.m After writing my statement, I was stripped to the pants and put into cell. The following day (Saturday January 14th) most of us were very ill and when we attempted to complain, the police threatened to beat us up. By evening some of the students could not stand it any longer and so they started to cry. It was only then that they were sent to the hospital.
No.5
We were driven to the Legon Police Station where our particulars were taken. After that we joined a group of some other students and workers of similar fate whereupon we were taken to the Police Hospital in Accra for first aid. About four students were admitted and the rest of us numbering 15 were conveyed back to Legon Police Station at about 10.00 p.m. After giving a statement at about 3.00 a.m. (Saturday 14th January) I was asked to undress leaving only my pants. I was then put into a cell with 20 others, including students, 4 porters and two gentlemen who identified themselves as visitors to the campus. Lunch and supper were served from the University hospital on 14th January. However, because of my swollen tongue, caused by the forcible insertion of a truncheon in my mouth, I could not eat. Some students were called out of the cell on this day. We guessed they were released. There were 19 of us left in the cell.
No.6
At the police station the police from time to time hit anyone who was close by. What seemed to excite the constables in the room was that periodically an officer in plain clothes would come in and announce that another member of the police force had been killed by the students. There was a senior officer who carried a pistol in his bolt. He took the pistol out on several occasions and, pointing it at us, threatened to shoot all of us if a policeman who had been captured by the students was not found alive. During one of these gun-brandishing sessions word came to the office announcing the arrival of the Inspector-General of Police. The Officer with the pistol quickly put it back into its holster. As soon as the Inspector-General of Police left, the officer took the pistol out again and announced: ‘We will rule this country like Amin in Uganda. We will kill you’. A student was carried in by four men. He looked weak and thoroughly beaten up. He cried for water and told them he was a sickler. After a long delay an enamel cup with water was brought to him and, instead of giving the water to him to drink the water was sprinkled on him. After he had pleaded for a long time with them he was finally allowed to drink some water. A girl was brought in with only torn up long pants around the waist. When the’ Police finally decided to take the seriously injured to hospital, they refused to carry into the Police van a student who was badly wounded in both legs. He had to drag himself on the floor for about five paces before they lifted and carried him into the van.
These reports, from students and non-students alike, give a fair idea of what happened to persons placed under arrest at the Legon Police Station.
L. Negotiations Between the Police and the University Authorities
Most of the morning the Pro-Vice-Chancellor had been working in his laboratory in the Botany Department, and had not been aware, according to his evidence, of what was going on. When he received reports of the invasion, he contacted by telephone a Mr. Thompson, Assistant Commissioner of Police, who informed the Pro-Vice-Chancellor that two senior Police Officers, Messrs. Omane and Kwakye, were in charge of the operations and were at the Legon Police Station. Just before noon, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor went to the Police Station, accompanied by two officials of the University Administration. In his evidence the Pro-Vice-Chancellor could not say whether or not the Police were aware at the time that the policeman guarding the Banks on the campus had been seized by the students. A constable was instructed to go to the Bank to verify the position, but on the suggestion of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, the Police Officers agreed that it would be unwise for a constable to be seen entering the campus, given the prevailing conditions. The constable was therefore recalled and the officials who accompanied the Pro-Vice-Chancellor to the Police Station went to the campus to check on the veracity of the allegation. They eventually reported at the Police Station that the Policeman was not at his post at the Bank. There was no further communication between the Police and the University Authorities until about 7.35 p.m. The show of force demonstrated by the Police had failed to produce the hostage and his equipment, and the Police now realised the need for soliciting the co-operation of the University Authorities in finding the captive. At 7.35 p.m. Mr. Omane, Deputy Commissioner and Mr. Kugblenu, Assistant Commissioner went with two other policemen in plain clothes to see the Pro-Vice-Chancellor in his house. This was the first approach by the Police to any University official on that day.
M. The Recovery and Surrender of the Hostage
On his return from the Police Station earlier, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor arranged a meeting with student leaders to discuss with them the events of the day and impress on them the urgency of the need to release the captured policeman. The meeting was long and tedious, and dragged on intermittently from 2.30 p.m. to about 9.40 p.m., the students demanding the release of their arrested colleagues before surrendering the policeman. Indeed the meeting was in progress when the second police invasion started, and this renewed offensive seriously set back the progress of the negotiations for the release of the captive.. At about 7.40 p.m. the Pro-Vice-Chancellor had to leave the meeting to see the Police Officers then waiting in his house, but the negotiations with the student leaders continued, and after much bargaining and persuasion, members of the University Administration were, at about 9.40 p.m., given a clue which led to the discovery of the Policeman. His wrists had been wrapped with an old singlet and tied with an electric flex. He was wearing a long sleeved striped University jersey (with inscription “U.G.13”) over a pair of trousers. He had no shoes on. He was identified as Constable Kyeremeh, taken to the Pro-Vice-Chancellor’s house at about 9.55 p.m. and handed over to the officers then still waiting there. The Pro-Vice-Chancellor then joined a meeting of the Executive Committee which had been scheduled to meet at 8.30 p.m. to discuss the events of the day.
N. The State of the University
There had been much panic in the University and students advised themselves against sleeping in their Halls. Many fled into Accra, and some are known to have spent the night in the bush. For those who witnessed the incidents of the day, the experience was traumatic.
Part III – Events of 14th January, 1978
In the morning of Saturday, 14th January the Executive Committee met to discuss the incidents of the preceding day. It was learnt that about 29 students were being held in a cell at the Legon Police Station. About 15 of these had varying degrees of injuries from head wounds to swollen limbs. One student had been transferred to Korle Bu, and about eight had been sent to the Police Hospital. Among the victims at the University Hospital were two workers, a Porter and a Security Guard with serious injuries. At 1.00 p.m. the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, the Dean of Students and two officials of the Central Administration met with the student leaders in an effort to get clues leading to the recovery of certain missing items: the policeman’s rifle and bayonet, boots, cap, shirt, mess pan and five rounds of ammunition which the Police claimed had been in the possession of the policeman when he was seized. At about 5.30 p.m. the cap, boots, torn shirt and mess pan were recovered and handed over to the Police.
Part IV – Events of 15th January, 1978
A. Police Search of the Campus
At about 12.15 p.m. the Pro-Vice-Chancellor, accompanied by the Dean of Students and two officials of the Central Administration went to the Police Station and held discussions with Messrs. Ayernor, Omane, Sowah and Kugblenu. The Pro-Vice-Chancellor informed these officials of the efforts made that had resulted in the return of the officer’s cap, boots, shirt and mess pan, and confirmed that the University Administration was leaving no stone unturned to trace the rifle, bayonet and ammunition. These Officers expressed their appreciation of the University’s co-operation with them, and promised to report to their superior and advise the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the decision that might be taken. At about 3.00 p.m. the Police Officers went to see the Pro-Vice-Chancellor in his house. They had been instructed to search the entire University for the rifle and the ammunition, and had come to seek the permission of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor to conduct the search. After some discussion it was agreed that only Special Branch policemen in plain clothes would conduct the search, and in the presence of University personnel. The Riot Squad would stay outside the premises to keep watch. It was also agreed that there would be no Police intimidation.
A number of Hall Officers and other Senior Members were quickly organised to supervise the search operations at the various points, the Halls of Residence being the main areas of Police interest. The search of the Halls was conducted in an orderly fashion, and it led to the discovery of the belt of the captive In Commonwealth Hall. Unfortunately as some keys could not be found the search of Commonwealth Hall was not completed that day, and the Police mounted guard on the Hall overnight.
In the middle of the search of the Hails the Police informed the University Authorities that dwelling houses would no longer be searched as was originally intended.
B. Attack on Individuals
The beating up of innocent persons by the Police did not end with the invasion of 13th January. On the morning of Sunday 15th January, two students were pulled out of a University bus on the Achimota road and beaten up. The Pro-Vice-Chancellor reported this incident to the Police Officers when he went to see them at the Police Station that afternoon. The officers promised to investigate the incident, but to the Committee’s knowledge nothing came out of this investigation.
Part V – Events of 16th January, 1978
A. The Police Search Continues
The Police search of Commonwealth Hall was resumed early in the morning. It ended at about noon, with the rifle and ammunition still not being found. At about 12.15 p.m. the Pro-Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar met the Ins- pector-General of Police, Mr. E. Ako, at the Police Headquarters to review the situation on the campus. When, on Sunday the 15th January the Pro-Vice-Chancellor called at the Police Station, the Officers had intimated a desire to search the ponds in the University the following day if the search in Commonwealth Hall failed to produce the rifle. The Pro-Vice-Chancellor had seen no objection to this proposal, and agreed to request the Curator of Grounds and Gardens to assist the Police by draining the ponds. The search of the ponds continued throughout the 16th of January, 1978. At about 5.15 p.m., while at a meeting of the Executive Committee, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor received word that Mr. Lindsay, Commissioner of Police (C.I.D.) had called to see him. In the company of the Registrar and two other officials, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor held a short discussion with the Police team. The main topic stressed was the urgent need for retrieving the rifle and the ammunition for, as the Police saw it, life on the campus would be otherwise unsafe. With expressions of their appreciation of the co-operation of the University Authorities, the Police team left.
B. Further Beatings
On Monday 16th January, a University worker who was returning to work from a week-end trip to his home-town was beaten up along the main road. He had left Legon for Akropong-Akwapim at close of work on Thursday, 12th January, 1978 and was unaware of what had happened on the 13th of January. The bus in which he travelled back pulled up at the stop near the University Gate at about 6.00 a.m. As he crossed the main road to get to his house at the Staff Quarters behind the University Hospital – a number of policemen pounced upon him shouting: “Ibi now you dey come eh?” He was booted down as he tried to run, slapped and then battered with truncheons. He was dragged to the Police Station, and even though he was bleeding profusely, he was locked up in a cell until 3.00 p.m. when he was released.
Part VI-Events of 17th January, 1978
A. The Police Search Still Continues
The search of ponds in the University was continued. Bushes on the northern side of Commonwealth Hall were also searched. At about 9.00 a.m. two Police Officers approached the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for permission to search classrooms, and this request was granted. The search of classrooms ended at about 12.50 p.m.
The missing rifle and ammunition had still not been recovered.
B. Release of Students
At about 5.00 p.m. the Inspector-General of Police informed the Pro-Vice-Chancellor by telephone that all students being held in custody were being released. This information was confirmed the following day.
Part VII. Events of 18th January, 1978
A. Discovery of the Rifle and Bayonet
At about 10.30 a.m., the Master of Akuafo Hall informed the Vice-Chancellor that the rifle had been found at Annex 2 of the Hall by a University employee. The Inspector-General of Police wa requested to send an unobtrusive team to the campus for its recovery, and on the arrival of this team, led by Mr. Lindsay of the C.I.D., three University Officials took them to the spot. The rifle a Mark 2 rifle with butt No.3975 and with the bayonet affixed to it was found in a drainage chute in the bathroom section of the third floor of the Annex, and was retrieved at 11.38 a.m.
The recovery party returned to the Pro-Vice-Chancellor’s office with the rifle, and the Police confirmed that this was the one they were looking for. In the discussions that followed, the impression was given by the Police that with the discovery of the rifle the need for recovering the ammunition was no longer as pressing as before.
The Police took the rifle and the bayonet away, and at 2.00 p.m. there was an announcement on Radio Ghana that the Ghana Police had recovered the rifle.
