Armed military men brutalize civilian

Armed military men have inflicted severe wounds on a civilian in Damongo in the West Gonja District of Northern Ghana.

The incident occurred around the Catholic Guest House junction, a few kilometres away from Damongo township, Tuesday afternoon.

This was after the victim, Jyimah Ibrahim popularly known as Kashinteng, a well known businessman and wielding engineer in the district had stopped by on a drive to ease himself.

The military men numbering three(3) were believed to be traveling from Tamale to Wa.

Dressed in their military uniforms with a military van, they drove by and stopped to interrogate him.

Upon stopping, they asked who the owner of the packed car was and the victim owned up. They further queried whether that was the proper way of packing but before the victim could say jack, one of the military men forcefully opened the door of his car and found a single barrel and a pistol therein. He yelled for the attention of his colleagues that the victim was carrying a weapon.

One of the military men immediately corked his gun and ordered the victim to go on his knees (kneel) which he obliged. The car of the victim was then ransacked; all his phones were seized. A sum Ghc2,800 was confiscated from the victim as well.

Jyimah Ibrahim attempted explaining that he was not a criminal and that the weapons were dully registered. He tried to show them the registration documents to the weapons but the military will have non of that.

He was hit severally on the head with a wheel spanner until blood started oozing.

The military men then asked him to lie flat on the ground. He was handcuffed.

They then threatened to carry him along to Wa if he does not own up or do something. Jyimah Ibrahim explained that there was a police command in the district and he was willing to submit himself to any kind of investigation. The military declined to refer the victim to the district police command for investigation with the reason that the police are always in bed with criminals.

They drove the him pass the district and the District Police Command and stopped a few kilometres to a near by community called Laribanga. They ask the Ibrahim to "talk like a man" else if the case gets to Wa, it will become a very big case.

They proceeded with the victim until another well known civilian (name withheld) in the district chanced upon them. Upon seeing the local business mogul in that state, he tried intervening but the military insisted they have to carry the Ibrahim to Wa.

He confirmed that Ibrahim was a well respected businessman in the district and not a criminal as purported.

That notwithstanding, the military still failed to free him. At a point they demanded that the other civilian pays a sum of Ghc5,000 before they release him. The intervening civilian after a long thought and upon persistent quest by the military men gave out an undisclosed sum to the military on the blind side of the Ibrahim.

The military afterwards took Ghc1,000 from from the Ghc2,800 they initially collected from Ibrahim before setting him free.

Jyimah Ibrahim was immediately driven to the West Gonja Catholic hospital where he was treated and discharged.

Narrating his ordeal in an interview with Ghanaweb.com, Ibrahim who felt traumatised feared the military were not out to protect the country. He wondered why after taking money they set him free without carrying out any investigation as they initially insisted.He confirmed he has since reported the matter to the West Gonja District Police Command.

When queried as to whether he could identify the military men, Ibrahim disclosed that he was only able to identify the one who was driving the van as Bissi as written on the tag of his military uniform. He also said that the number on the military van was 69 WA. He prayed justice is served in this matter to serve as a deterrent to others.

Chief Inspector Gbeve of the District Police Command has confirmed to Ghanaweb.com that the matter has been brought to their attention and was under investigation. He was unable to disclose further information on the matter since it was still under investigation.