Audio By Carbonatix
The Deputy Defence Minister, Kofi Amankwa-Manu, believes military officers deployed to Bawku are there to safeguard the lives and properties of residents.
According to him, he could vouch for the professionalism and caliber of training provided to members of the Ghana Armed Forces. As such, he does not believe the military officers would deliberately kill anyone as they are alleged to have done by the Bawku Central MP and some residents of the area.
Speaking on JoyNews’ The Probe on Sunday, he said, "In terms of professionalism, I will say that the Ghanaian army as we have today can be compared to any army on the globe. And so, I don’t think that the Ghanaian army will be selective in going after a particular group of people.
"They are there to do a professional job, they are there to make sure that every Ghanaian is protected."
The Deputy Defence Minister noted that the allegations about the military murdering some residents of Bawku has been clarified by the explanation offered by the military that they had to neutalise six men in the process of trying to restore order in the area.
He described as absurd, any thought that the security personnel sent to protect the residents would rather purposely kill them.
He asserted that based on the briefings he had on the incident, he is of the view that the narrative that the military officers, indeed attacked the residents is suspicious.
Mr Amankwa-Manu’s statement is in response to allegations being levelled against the Ghana Armed Forces by some residents of Bawku, as well as the MP for Bawku Central, that the soldiers killed about ten people in the area.
Following these allegations, MP for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, has petitioned CHRAJ to investigate these killings and is also demanding an amount of GH₵500,000 be paid to each of the families of those who lost their lives and adequate compensation for injured victims.
However, the Ghana Armed Forces also released a statement in response to the MP’s allegation, explaining, contrary to the MP’s narrative, that the security forces that were deployed to restore order were attacked by the locals of the town.
The statement issued by the GAF further disclosed that, as a result of this engagement, the military men had to neutralise six armed men.
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