“If you attack a soldier, soldiers will react” – Prof Gyampo on Ashaiman brutalities

A Senior Lecturer at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana (Legon), Prof Ransford Gyampo has caution the public against attacking soldiers or any member of the security services who represent the state.

That he said was because any such attack on them will mean an attack on the state and will warrant similar reaction from the service.

Prof Gyampo made the comment on the KeyPoint on TV3 on Saturday, March 11, monitored by GhanaPlus.com.

“All over the world if you attack a soldier like this, soldiers react,” he said.

“All over the world if you attack a soldier like this, soldiers will react in similar way,” he emphasized.

He said no one has the right to take the life of another, let alone a man in uniform representing the state.

Prof Gyampo was reacting to the military brutalities recorded at Taifa, a suburb of Ashaiman following the murder of 21year-old  Imoro Sherif, a member of the Ghana Armed Forces Band stationed at Sunyani in the Bono Region.

The young soldier who was in Accra for a training programme was murdered on Saturday, March 4, while visiting his family in the area.

Military invade Ashaiman over soldier’s murder

Aftermath of his death, saw military brutalities at Ashaiman early hours of Tuesday, March 7.

Innocent men, women and children were round up at about 4:am, amidst the heavy downpour on Tuesday morning beaten, canned,  torture and brutally assaulted over the murder of the young soldier.

They were made to sleep, roll in flood waters and some allegedly made to drink from water fetched from gutters.

Defence Ministry apologies for excesses

The Deputy Minister of Defence, Mr Amankwa-Manu has however,  apologized to Ghanaians for the accesses.

He said it was an unfortunate fall out from what was supposed to be a military sanctioned and collaborated operation.

“I think that it is a rear excess I will apologies. Is a rear excesses,” Mr Amankwa-Manu said.

“Sometimes when sanctions are being carried out, you get one or two people who will get carry away and then they engage in excesses and if anybody have been affected by it, I think that its only fair that we apologies”.

“But what I want to put on records is that this is a legitimate sanctioned military operation,” Mr Amankwa-Manu added.

Suspects in the murder have been arrested by the Ghana Police Service.

Source: GhanaPlus.com