The police at Jasikan in the Volta Region have released three Togolese security personnel who were arrested for making an incursion into Ghana to arrest a suspected dissident.

They were arrested on New Year’s Day at  Amaoku, a village in the Jasikan District after they had clashed with residents of the village.

Briefing

Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Volta Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP), Mr Francis Ebenezer Doku, said the Jasikan Police had information that eight Togolese soldiers who belonged to the secret service had crossed into Amaoku.

He said when the local residents asked them about their presence in the town, they claimed they were looking for a dissident but the residents did not take it kindly and engaged them in a confrontation during which five of them escaped back to Togo.

He said the three who were left behind were manhandled by the mob until the police rushed to the village to save the situation after which they brought the Togolese to Jasikan in the company of the Jasikan District Chief Executive.

DCOP Doku said after extensive interrogation, the person who was alleged to be a dissident denied having stepped out of the village and could, therefore, not have taken part in any act of civil disobedience in Togo as alleged by the soldiers.

Togolese  commander

He said in the course of investigations, the sector commander of the Togolese military arrived at Jasikan and negotiated for the release of the soldiers who were consequently handed over to him and escorted by the police to the frontier.

He said the escort was done on the basis that if the soldiers were left to go on their own they could be attacked by the village folk.

DCOP Doku said Interpol Ghana was accordingly informed of the incident and they had taken the matter up with their Togolese counterparts to ensure that the international protocols on such arrests were observed.

He said the alleged dissident had gone back to the village, adding that it was a mistaken identity.