Registered guns should be used under permit-Legal practitioner

A private legal practitioner, Bernard Agortey has indicated registered guns are to be used in accordance with permits that are given for the same.

According to him, the purpose for using registered guns should be indicated in that permit issued by the Inspector General of Police(IGP).

“We are not saying that if you have a registered gun, you cannot discharge it. You can discharge it and use it in accordance with the permit that has been given you. You have a permit but the permit will have its limits, it will have a time frame,” he said

“If you read the law on possession, generally, when you are caught with the prohibited gun, the onus is on you to come and show that you have a permit to use the way you are using it or to hold it the way you are holding it,” he added.

Speaking on the Law program with Samson Lardy Anyenini on Sunday, October 24, 2021, the private legal practitioner further indicated that it is an offense for one to use or flaunt ammunition without a license or permission.

On Friday, October 22, 2021, a circuit court in Accra remanded Ghanaian musician, Samuel Frimpong, popularly known as Medikal, to prison custody for five days after he was arrested for displaying a gun on social media.

Mr. Agortey also stated that such persons who flaunt unlicensed guns can be prosecuted because once you purchase a gun, you owe it as a duty to make sure that same is registered and licensed before using them.

Moreover, the legal practitioner was not happy about the emerging trend where ammunitions are used especially for traditional festivals without the requisite permit from the police.

“I don’t know why we are now getting here in terms of public discourse on this matter because almost every year, we hear of people dying during festivals or funerals of stray bullets coming from chiefs and people following chiefs all in the name of culture,” he ended.