A cousin of President Nana Akufo-Addo has condemned the police for their “needless and shameless” use of force on law students who protested on Monday.

‘Gabby’ Asare Otchere-Darko described the firing of rubber bullets and spraying of water at the students who were protesting mass failures at the Ghana School of Law as “disgraceful.”

The Inspector-General of Police must explain this, he said.

Parliamentarian, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa also called out the law enforcers for the excesses.

The North Tongu MP wrote on Facebook: …” enough of the senseless use of force.”

What led to the clashes?

Police stormed the streets to stop the protestors from heading to the Jubilee House to submit a petition to the presidency on mass failures at the Ghana School of Law.

This was after the police, according to protestors, had declined to help maintain order during the demonstration, citing a shortage of staff.

The leaders of the demonstration, however, said the last-minute information from the law enforcers would not stop them.

The leaders said after the police struck, they attempted negotiating with them for only the leaders of the protest to go ahead to the seat of government to present the petition.

The officers, however, did not budge and rather fired rubber bullets and sprayed water from their cannons to disperse the protestors.

About 13 of them were arrested, detained and later released.

Law school failures

Only 128 of candidates who wrote the 2019 entrance exams passed out of a total of 1,820; representing 93% fail. 

The protestors say the systems at the law school have been designed to keep prospective students out. Others claim the legal profession is being reversed for the few.

Results of the Bar exams have also been appalling. More than 80% of the candidates have failed the Bar exams in recent times.

The demonstrators on Monday marched to protest the failures and demand changes in the legal education system.

The students say the mass failures are not a true representation of the exams