The Ashaiman MP, Ernest Norgbey says that the 34 residents who were arrested by the military and handed over to the Police on Tuesday have been released from custody.

According to him, he had an interaction with the Chief of Defence Staff who confirmed that the residents have been set free.

Mr Norgbey said however, that he is yet to establish contact with them.

“I have not been able to see them as we speak, but we are making frank efforts to have all of them at one place so that we will be able to talk to them.

“But yes I can confirm that yesterday I met with the Chief of Defence Staff who told me they were going to release them as at yesterday and so early this morning, we spoke and he confirmed to me that he has released them back to the community”, Mr Norgbey said in an interview with JoyNews on Friday.

It would be recalled that in the early hours of Tuesday, March 7, a group of military personnel invaded Ashaiman after the killing of their colleague named Sheriff Imoro.

The soldiers brutalised several residents - and have since described their actions as an intelligence-led operation to arrest persons who were allegedly involved in the killing of the military man.

The Ashaiman MP added that about 184 residents were picked up by the military in the Tuesday swoop but about 150 were released the same day.

He further explained that the 34 residents who were not released from custody were those the military held as suspects because illegal substances were found on them.

“They [military] found some illegal substances on some of them which they were doing further and better screening to ascertain the veracity of it. So 150 out of them were released because according to them, most of them were going to work and some of them were in bed when they picked them up. So they had to release them as quickly as possible.

“The remaining 34 had some questionable characters. So that is why they kept them to do further checks on them before they release them”, he said.

Mr Norgbey asserted that the 34 residents were released after the Police found them not guilty of the act. He said that the rights of his residents were infringed upon and demanded justice to be served.

He added that plans are underway to petition the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) or head to court to demand justice for the affected residents.