Two young men have been arrested in Accra for allegedly impersonating members of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) Task Force and attempting to extort money from a woman during the National Sanitation Day exercise on Saturday, September 5, 2026.
The suspects, identified as Enoch Aseda and Johnson Odai Gyebi, were accused of posing as enforcement officers and using the name of the AMA and other security agencies to intimidate members of the public under the guise of enforcing sanitation regulations.
According to accounts surrounding the incident, the suspects allegedly approached a young girl who was selling items and attempted to seize some of her belongings while claiming to be carrying out official enforcement duties.
Narrating the incident, the young lady said that one of the suspects approached her while she was attending to items kept in a plastic bag and demanded that the items be handed over to him.
She said the suspect was subsequently heard making phone calls and indicating that the seized items were becoming numerous and that others should come to retrieve them, creating the impression that he was working with an official enforcement team.
Security personnel who became suspicious of the activities of the suspects intervened and arrested them.
The Mayor of Accra, Hon. Michael Kpakpo Allotey, who was informed about the incident, condemned the alleged conduct and warned that the Assembly would not tolerate individuals who used the name of the AMA, National Security or other state institutions to extort money from unsuspecting members of the public.
He expressed concern that such activities had the potential to damage the reputation of the Assembly and create the false impression that legitimate AMA officers were engaged in extortion.
The Mayor said it was particularly disturbing that young people would allegedly take advantage of the National Sanitation Day exercise, which was intended to mobilise residents and businesses to improve cleanliness, to exploit members of the public for personal gain.
He assured the victim and members of the public that the matter would be pursued through the appropriate legal processes, stressing that anyone found culpable would be made to face the law.
He also cautioned members of the public against making unofficial payments to individuals claiming to be enforcing AMA regulations, emphasising that enforcement exercises must be carried out by duly authorised personnel in accordance with established procedures.
The two suspects were subsequently handed over to the police to assist with investigations into the alleged impersonation and attempted extortion.