By Ibrahim Mohammed Saani
Ashaiman, March 24, GNA – Mr Ernest Norgbey, the Member of Parliament for Ashaiman, has raised concerns over the neglect of recommendation made by the Parliamentary Select Committee on Defence and Interior on the military brutality of some residents of Ashaiman in 2023.
Mr Norgbey revealed that a conclusion on the matter had been reached by the committee of which he was a member, but its recommendations had not been implemented due to alleged political reasons.
He said excerpts of the recommendations indicated that persons brutalised by the military and who sustained various degrees of injuries should be promptly and adequately compensated by the state.
The committee abhors any form of torturous handling of civilians by the military and therefore made a call in the report on the leadership of the Ghana Armed Forces to educate their personnel on the legal demands and consequences of such acts, he said.
“The committee further recommended that the soldiers who indulged in the excesses associated with the operation should be identified and dealt with under Section 22 of the Ghana Armed Forces Act,” he added.
The MP who was addressing the media, therefore called on the government to implement the recommendations as victims were yet to be compensated.
Meanwhile, some of the victims of the military swoop in Ashaiman have backed calls for their immediate compensation, stating that due to lack of money, they were still relying on painkillers to survive.
Mr Antony Agbeshie, a victim, revealed that since the assault by the military men, he had been to the hospital several times, adding that he had to stop and rely on painkillers to relieve his pain due to a lack of money to pay for his medical bills.
He said that after the incident on March 7, 2023, he was asked to do a scan of his whole body to determine the degree of implication and was told he needed proper care to heal internal wounds, but he could not afford it due to financial constraints and had since stopped seeking medical care.
Mr Worlayor Adzanku, another victim who had his property damaged, said the soldiers entered his home by scaling over the fence wall and caused severe damage to all the doors and windows of the house.
He said he provided pictorial evidence of the damage to the leaders, to present to the Parliamentary Committee that probed the matter, but nothing had been done to fix the house
He cautioned that law enforcement agencies such as the military should not misuse their authorities but rather make inquiries into all matters before taking hasty actions.
He said currently security in his home has become a problem as he had been unable to fix the many damages they caused to his house and therefore called for immediate compensation.
The military on March 7, 2023, embarked on an operation in some suburbs of Ashaiman following the murder of Trooper Sherif Imoro.
GNA