Albert Kan-Dapaah
Minister for National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah, has been summoned before Parliament to brief the House on the military’s brutal attack on the people of Garu and Tempane.
The attack occurred in the early hours of Sunday, October 29, in retaliation for an earlier attack on national security officers deployed to the area on a counterterrorism operation by the residents of the communities.
Reports said the locals chased the five national security officers to the police station and besieged them until they were rescued by members of the Ghana Armed Forces.
The military said that their raid on the communities was to recover the weapons and apprehend the offenders.
However, the Second Deputy Speaker, Andrew Asiamah Amoako, believes the minister must answer questions about the incident, and has directed him to appear before the House on November 9, 2023 to brief Parliament on the incident.
“I will like the Minister for National Security to be here, knowing what has taken place, to brief the House.
“Afterwards, if there is the need for the Minister to appear before the Committee for Defence and Interior, that will be done,” he said.
“Probably, what we are hearing is different from what the Minister has under his sleeves. So let’s invite the Minister to appear before the House. He will come and brief the House and we will take it from there,” he directed.
The directive from the Second Deputy Speaker came in response to a statement made on the House floor about the incident by Albert Alalzuuga Akuka, Member of Parliament for Garu.
According to the MP, he is deeply concerned about how the military officers reportedly brutalised and maimed the residents.
“It is important to mention that this incident by the military adds to a long list of barbaric and inhumane actions carried out by our men in uniform on innocent civilians whom they ought to be protecting as a matter of responsibility,” he noted.
He said all efforts to get answers regarding the number of residents picked up by the military officers during the swoop and their whereabouts had yielded no results for two clear days.
“This is an unacceptable violation of our citizens’ rights, and as a matter of urgency, I am strongly calling and demanding for an immediate government intervention to address this issue and also for Parliament to open a probe into this matter, and bring a comprehensive resolution to it,” he entreated.
Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, appealed to the security apparatus to allow due process of the law to take its course.
“It is good they sent them (arrestees) to court. Now they have access to counsel and it is within the ambit of the law,” he stated.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House