Swift police intervention on Sunday night prevented what could have turned into a brutal case of mob justice at the 37 traffic light in Accra.
A man accused of stealing items, including billboard banners, was chased by an angry crowd after an alarm was raised. In a desperate bid to escape, he scaled a tree near the 37 lorry terminal, where he remained for hours as the mob gathered beneath, threatening to attack him.
Officers from the Ghana Police Service arrived at the scene to de-escalate tensions and eventually took the suspect into custody.
The incident has reignited calls from authorities for citizens to refrain from taking the law into their own hands. Security experts and law enforcement agencies have repeatedly warned that mob justice undermines the rule of law and risks wrongful deaths, as suspects are often attacked without due process.
Police reiterated that individuals accused of crime should be handed over to the nearest station for proper investigation and prosecution, rather than being subjected to violence.
