The Minister of Interior, Ambrose Dery, has set up a three-member committee to investigate the circumstances leading to the death of three people in Ejura in the Ashanti Region.
The committee which was announced today, Thursday, July 1, 2021, is made up of George Kingsley Koomson,;a Court of Appeal judge,;Professor Vladimir Antwi-Danso, and International Relations and security expert and Juliet Amoah, a media-tech innovator.
The tripartite committee will complete their investigations within a 10-day period.
The constitution of the committee follows a directive by President Nana Akufo-Addo to;the Ministry of Interior to investigate the circumstances that led to;the death of social activist Ibrahim Anyass Mohammed and others during a protest in Ejura.
This committee has come on despite;the Minority in Parliament’s opposition to the President’s directive and calling for a rather public probe.
Ensure Accountability in Security Service
Prior to this, Mr. Adib Saani, a security analyst speaking on investigations into the violence also called on the;Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Armed Forces to ensure accountability in the security service.
Speaking in an interview,;he explained that ensuring accountability in the security services and bringing to book officers who indulge in criminal activities would boost the trust of Ghanaians in the integrity of the various security services to carry out their mandates in accordance with the law.
“During the elections, some people were killed and we don’t know what has become of the investigations. I think that a proper, thorough and elaborate investigation should be conducted into what has happened. There is always the possibility of shielding law enforcement officers or members within the security services when they do the wrong thing and it doesn’t help because ensuring accountability within the security services is in the best interest of the security services.”
Adib Saani
He further cautioned against shielding security officers involved in the shootings in Ejura. He indicated that any such move would result in a lack of confidence and trust among Ghanaians in the various state security agencies.
“When you have a population that doesn’t [have] trust in you, they invariably become anchor operative and it would make it very difficult for the security services to do their work.”
Adib Saani
Police not making arrest, caused violence
Adib Saani was also of the view that the inability of the Police to issue an arrest for the murder of Ibrahim Mohammed led to the protest and clash in Ejura-Sekyedumase. He said the action cemented fears that nothing would come out of the police investigation into the case. interior
“People in that area feel this is going to be another number. In the past,;it has happened and nobody was held to account and it’s going to happen like that on this occasion and their issues were further solidified by the fact that the police didn’t make an arrest despite all the complaints surrounding the issue.
“The police only made an arrest after the disturbance. So a lot of the issue has to do with the lack of trust in the ability of;the systems to operate.”
Adib Saani
