300 remanded after EPA/NAIMOS clashes; families protest mistaken arrests
Over 300 suspects have been remanded for two weeks, accused of assaulting a joint anti-illegal mining task force made up of NAIMOS officials, EPA personnel, and journalists.
The arrested individuals are residents of Dadwene and Anwona in the Ashanti Region, as well as Hwidiem, Kenyase, Goaso, and Marhani in the Ahafo Region, and were picked up during a joint military-police swoop.
At dawn on Wednesday, 12 November 2025, security forces launched coordinated raids across the Ashanti and Ahafo regions, with an additional operation carried out at Ehi in the Volta Region.
Videos circulating on social media show the suspects, mostly men, lined up on the streets and subjected to strenuous physical drills.
Many appear distressed and confused, claiming they were not informed of the reason for their arrest.
Residents insist the security team raided the wrong Dadwene community.
According to them, the intended target was the Dadwene located along the Obuasi–Dunkwa road, where illegal miners had reportedly attacked an EPA team, not the Dadwene on the Kumasi–Obuasi stretch where the arrests occurred.
All suspects from the various communities were transported to Kumasi and arraigned before the court, which ordered that they be remanded into prison custody for two weeks.
At the Kumasi Central Prisons, emotional scenes unfolded as anxious families queued outside, hoping to see their relatives or secure bail.
The detainees are expected to reappear in court on Thursday, 27 November 2025.
Several eyewitnesses say they were wrongly arrested, claiming that security officers disregarded clear evidence of innocence.
“My husband even showed them his ID card proving he works as an electrician for AGA, but the police didn’t listen. They ransacked our room. They didn’t explain what my husband had done,” said Kukuaa Amissah, the wife of one of the detainees.
Residents and some Members of Parliament, including Tano North MP Gideon Boako, have condemned the mass arrests, arguing that the operation indiscriminately swept up many innocent people.
They are calling for the immediate release of wrongfully detained residents and urging the military to adopt a more precise, intelligence-driven approach in future operations.