Associate Professor at the School of Law, University of Ghana, Prof Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua, has called on the police to investigate the excesses admitted by the military during the raid on Ashaiman near Tema.
The Defence Minister as well as the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) admitted to sanctioning the swoop on Ashaiman after a young soldier was murdered on March 7, 2023.
The admission is contained in Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee’s report.
In an interview on Joy FM’s Top Story on Friday, January 26, Prof Apppagyei-Atua stated that the IGP, Dr George Akuffo Dampare has a role to play in the matter because the police conducted investigation to unravel the mystery around the young soldier’s death.
However, he expected the police to condemn the military brutality and initiate an investigation into it, leading to arrests.
“It is not too late for the police because this borders on criminality, so they can do their investigations, identify these culprits,” he said, adding that “The law should hold them responsible for the harm that they’ve caused to the residents of Ashaiman, the image of Ghana Army and the image of Ghana as a country.”
Prof Appiagyei-Atua noted that although the Army has a tribunal to hold the culprits responsible, it should involve the police to ensure impartiality and professionalism in the findings.
He also shared the view that in finding who is responsible for the unlawful detention and military excesses, “It should go straight to the head of the Ghana Army.”
He explained that this is because since the orders came from the high command, it would be difficult to identify people who committed which particular offence.
“In the army structure, when such offences are committed, it is the responsibility of those who gave the order who should be held responsible. They would then be able to identify the people who were identified as leaders in command and so on who gave orders for their juniors to commit those atrocities,” he pointed out.
However, he emphasised that junior military personnel who followed orders and engaged in the mentioned atrocities should also be held accountable. Nevertheless, he stressed that the primary responsibility lies with the command, and they should face the highest level of punishment.
Prof Appiagyei-Atua also commended Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee for a yeoman’s work done in its report.
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