The family of a 27-year-old Emmanuel Amofa who was shot dead by the Police at Agbogba, Accra two years ago, has dragged the state to court over the killing of their relative.
They are demanding a ¢10,000,000 competition for the incident they attribute to police negligence.
According to the suit, the deceased until his death, was a student who resided with the sister in the suburb.
The document sited by JoyNews shows that the deceased was killed by the police on April 16, 2018 after they suspected that he was an armed robber.
The deceased was said to have been approached by a police patrol team while standing in the company of other friends at a drinking spot at about 1am on the day of the incident. The police officers reportedly manhandled the deceased and subjected him to severe beatings amidst their insistence that he was an armed robber -an allegation the deceased consistently denied.
The family argued that in an attempt to escape the inhumane and unbearable torture and abuse by the policemen, the deceased took to his heels and the police pursued him while firing sporadic gunshots in his direction.
Fearing for his life, the deceased jumped over a nearby wall into the compound of one Mr. Mensah, who is a neighbor and a friend to their family and the armed policemen followed him into the compound and at a close range, shot and killed him in "cold blood."
Counsel for the family, Francis-Xavier Sosu, says he is determined to fight for justice for the deceased because he believes the conduct of the police officers violated the rights of the deceased under Chapter 5 of the 1992 Constitution, particularly, his right to life and his right to human dignity and not to be subjected to torture, cruel and dehumanising treatment.
The Human Rights and Public Interest Lawyer also argued that the treatment meted out to the deceased leading to his untimely death, violates various human rights charters to which Ghana is a signatory such as: The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Right (ACHPR).
“If nothing is done about this case, we will all be at risk. Police and law enforcement officers must know that they would be held accountable for every lethal weapon discharged on innocent citizens,” he said.
According to the suit the unlawful killing of the deceased has caused the sister and his parents and other family members anguish, excessive pain and anxiety.
The family has also suffered the following priceless losses: loss of future prospects and potential support to the family, loss of family dignity and social participation and General loss of opportunity for life.
It is based on the above that the family through its lawyers, is demanding 10 million Ghana cedis in compensation for loss of life.
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