Soldiers in a “search and arrest,” mission at Ashaiman New town

By Ibrahim Mohammed Saani 

Ashaiman, March 7, GNA – Scores of military officers have undertaken reconnaissance manoeuvring at Ashaiman with ground men, an armoured tank, and two helicopters to arrest persons involved in the cold blood murder of a soldier on Sunday, March 5.

The “search and arrest mission” which started in the early hours of Tuesday led to the entanglement with a section of the residents at Ashaiman enclave, especially at Newtown, Official Town, Valco Flat, and some parts of the Middle East all in the Ashaiman Municipality. 

According to Madam Ramar Alhassan, an eyewitness, the whole area was under a temporal self-imposed curfew as no one was seen walking about aside the soldiers, stressing “normal daily life has been interrupted abruptly”.  

Madam Alhassan who is a resident of Newtown explained that two nights ago some young men in the area beat a soldier, who was also a soldier to the pulp. 

She said the beating was not associated with theft as the soldier was found dead with his mobile phone, tablet, and some undisclosed amount of money with him. 

“The soldiers have been around since Monday, March 6, and they saw evidence of the soldier’s blood in a compound of a house. So they have taken all the residents of that house away. We don’t know where they might have taken them to,” she added.  

Mr. Ganiu Rufai, also an eyewitness who allegedly suffered a handspring from the engagement with the soldiers, narrated that he run into the soldiers’ riding a motorbike while wearing camouflage military shorts, they stopped him, questioned him, and manhandled him. 

Mr. Prosper Agbe, a resident of the area said, the soldiers have taken over the whole place, “now we are afraid”.   

GNA