Senior Vice President of Imani Africa has stated that the soldiers who shot into the crowd of agitated youth of Ejura and killed two of them in the process are criminals and must be prosecuted.
Kofi Bentil said the actions of the security officers were not in line with standard military operating procedures.
He told Kojo Yankson on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Thursday that “in a state like Ghana which is not a failed state, where there is a chain of command leading to the President, and standard operating procedures when people do this, they are identified.
“They are isolated from the system. They’re no longer soldiers; they’re criminals. They’re no longer police [officers]; they’re criminals, and they are prosecuted.”
Mr Bentil was part of a panel that discussed a directive by President Akufo-Addo, to Interior Minister Interior to investigate circumstances leading to the death of two and injury of four others.
This was after the joint security task force shot into a protesting crowd of youth in Ejura Sekyedumase on Tuesday.
According to Mr Bentil, if the security personnel are not held accountable for their actions, such incidents would be repeating in the near future.
“We don’t even know their names and who they are. Somebody just decides to cover them up. Instead of isolating them, we shield them.
“And instead of prosecuting them, we reward them or hide them away. When you transfer them to a higher position after they commit a crime, you have rewarded them,” he stated.
Mr Bentil said when security personnel breach the standard operating procedures, and commit murder during an assignment, such persons should not be treated as if they were doing their job.
“So the soldier who was on the field in Ejura had a Commander. That Commander has another officer commanding him. It goes all the way to the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). And it goes all the way to the President. Each of those people can be identified,” he noted.
Source: myjoyonline.com
