Barker Demands Prosecution Of Soldiers In Reported Ashaiman Brutality
Convenor of the FixTheCountry group, Oliver Barker Vormawor, has called for a legal action against military personnel who reportedly stormed Ashaiman in Accra to avenge the death of their colleague in the community.
He is of the strong opinion that the military will be encouraged to carry on with this action if they are immunised against prosecution as has been witnessed in the past.
“When we refuse to prosecute them for Ejura and for Wa. We are encouraging many more {in} Ashiaman.”
In June 2021 some military officers stormed Ejura at the command of the Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, and shot live ammunition at some residents, killing and injuring some in the process.
In July 2021, 11 persons suffered various degrees of injury at the hand of military officers in Wa while searching for a colleague’s smart phone which had been stolen.
Although committees were set up to investigate in each case, none of them was prosecuted in a law court.
In a recent video circulating on social media, two men dressed in military attire stormed a house wielding sticks and ordered the occupant to get out following the stabbing to death of their colleague on Saturday, March 4, 2023.
A resident told Citinews, “They (the military officers) knock on your door and once you step out you will receive slaps”.
In reaction through a social media post, Barker said he was willing to provide free legal services to these victims.
“I am willing to provide pro bono legal representation to anybody who was injured, brutalized, or even detained by the Military for their stupidity in Ashaiman. If you know any victim, direct them to my inbox. We all, lawyers in particular, have a responsibility to ground the rule of law even in the face of institutionalized tyranny.”
In a separate post, he called on the President to call the military to order and deliver on his mandate to protect the citizenry.
“The purpose of Government is to protect ordinary citizens from the brutality of its enforcers. This Government cannot look the other way when the military brutalize civilians. It cannot decide to keep quiet to appease the military just because it is afraid that if it acts, it may be overthrown in a military coup d’etat.
“Civilians cannot pay the price for a government that is afraid of its shadows. The President is immoral if he presides over a system where uniformed animals descend on the streets and showcase their brutality. He swore an oath to protect the common man. This is the time he acts on it! The buck stops with him; as President and as Commander in Chief!”
Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini
