Military raid at Ashaiman affront to democracy – Franklin Cudjoe
The Founding President and Chief Executive Officer of IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, Franklin Cudjoe, has described as an affront to the Constitution the recent military invasion at Ashaiman following the death of a 21-year-old military officer.
Military personnel stormed Ashaiman on Tuesday dawn March 7, 2023, with helicopters and armoured vehicles, to brutalise civilians following the murder of the military officer, Trooper Sherriff Imoro, who was allegedly stabbed in the town on Saturday, March 4, 2023.
Some innocent residents were lined up and beaten to a pulp as the town became what residents described as a ‘ghost’ area.
Adding his voice to the many stakeholders who have condemned the act, on the Big Issue on Citi TV with Selorm Adonoo, Mr. Cudjoe said, “what happened was an internal matter. If the military were protecting us from external aggression, the kind of force they would use for this internal matter would have probably been disproportionate if they were defending us against any external aggression.
He asserted, “the military can be called upon only when it appears that the police need their support. But in this case, it was not. What they did is an arbitration and an affront to the constitution”.
He questioned why President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo refused to comment on the matter when he delivered the State of the Nation Address.
“The President should have spoken about the matter. I’m sure he gets briefings every morning, so he knew about this anyway. The least he could have done was to say that what happened was unfortunate and that he has asked for an investigation to be conducted professionally. That would have absorbed him from some sort of blame.
“It doesn’t speak well of someone who is supposed to be a human rights defender. This and many dastardly acts could have gotten a mention publicly and in his State of the Nation Address. Because it was an action that was going to define democracy or the extent of freedom people can have in a normal democracy,” IMANI President stated.
The soldier, according to sources, was from Taifa and heading toward his residence at Zongo-Laka in Ashaiman when the unfortunate incident occurred.
Imoro Sherif who was found dead in a pool of blood near the Amania Hotel in Ashaiman was laid to rest on March 9.
Though he was carrying a laptop and other electronic gadgets the attackers made away with only his iPhone.
The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) in a statement justified the brutalities adding that the raid was not to avenge the death of the soldier but to fish out perpetrators of heinous crimes.
GAF announced that its high command sanctioned the swoop. The military during the swoop arrested 184 suspects, but they were all later released by the military.
The Police after a week of sustained intelligence-led operation arrested the key suspects involved in the murder of Imoro Sherrif.
The arrest was solely police intelligence work without the involvement of the military.
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By: Leticia Osei
