An argument between a Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) officer and a motorcycle rider (Okada) at the Aflao Beat 9 Border Post over the nationality of his pillion rider turned nasty and led to the shooting of the rider and another immigration officer.
The rider and immigration officer were both hit in the leg by bullets from the gun of a soldier who turned up at the scene to quell the chaos.
The two injured persons were rushed to the Aflao Municipal Hospital after the incident at about 9am on Sunday (January 15, 2023).
The immigration officer has since been treated and discharged while the rider was transferred to the Ho Teaching Hospital.
Tension
The incident has led to a mounting tension between residents and the security agencies in the border town.
The Ketu South Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Maxwell Lugudor told Graphic Online’s Alberto Mario Noretti that an enquiry had begun into the matter.
He did not disclose the names of the immigration officer and the rider off-hand, when he spoke to Graphic Online today.
The MCE, who chairs the Municipal Security Council, said when the immigration officer spotted the motorcycle rider at the border spot that morning, he signaled the rider to stop for the pillion rider to be profiled.
The immigration officer was said to have insisted that the pillion rider was a foreigner and not a Ghanaian.
The rider maintained that he was carrying his brother on the bike and prevented the officer from subjecting him to scrutiny to establish his nationality, Mr Lugudor added.
Exchanges
He said that let to bitter exchanges and physical confrontations between the immigration officer and the rider.
Sensing danger, the officer called the solder to the scene for reinforcement.
Still, the rider would not allow the immigration officer to profile the pillion rider.
The MCE said things then took a turn for the worse with a fierce physical struggle between the rider and the soldier, during which the soldier fired his duty weapon.
In the process, the bullet(s) hit the rider and the immigration officer.
Meanwhile, the okada rider has been identified as Kwaku Tengey, 35.