'Army personnel not above the law' - Nunoo Mensah

Some Ghanaian military personnel feel they are above the law, therefore, misbehave with impunity, Brigadier General Joseph Nunoo-Mensah, former Chief of Defence Staff and former National Security Coordinator, has said.

According to him, the leadership of the military in Ghana will need to conduct periodic training of military personnel on the laws of this country, as a way of reminding them that they are not above the laws of the land.

His comments follow the free-for-all bloody fight between some police and military personnel on Wednesday, 16 May.

The brawl ensued after a group of army personnel in the region went on the rampage and attacked police officers following an attempt by a military personnel to escape from police custody after returning from court that day.

The army personnel took to his heels and other military officers prevented the police officers on duty from re-arresting him, resulting in a free-for-all fight.

Some of the military men decided to beat up any police officer they identified. They also attacked cops stationed at various banks.

Speaking on the incident on Ghana Yensom hosted by Chief Jerry Forson on Accra100.5FM on Thursday, 17 May, Brigadier General Nunoo-Mensah, said: “The Military personnel will need to know that the police are the ones who have been empowered by the laws of the land to effect arrest of suspected criminals in the country.

“They will need to be taught the law so they know their boundaries. Some of the military personnel feel they are untouchable, they are above the law and so they can act with impunity and that is bad.”

“What happened yesterday was unfortunate, bad for the image of the security, especially the army and must be dealt with immediately.”

He added: “When we were in the uniform, this wouldn’t have happened because we were taught the laws as part of our training, we knew our boundaries and that of the police.”