Ashaiman MP calls for Independent C'ttee to investigate officers responsible for deployment of soldiers

Member of Parliament for Ashaiman, Ernest Henry Norgbey, has called for an Independent Committee to investigate the conduct of soldiers who brutalised innocent citizens in the area following the killing of one of their own.

According to him, the investigation is to identify the officers responsible for the unlawful deployment of the soldiers who took the law into their own hands to brutalise, torture and dehumanise innocent residents of Ashaiman to find the alleged killers of Sheriff Imoro.

In a press release, the lawmaker commended the police for arresting six suspects at various places in Ashaiman in connection with the cruel killing of Trooper Imoro Sheriff.

He however added that “an arrest, without more, does not fully complete the pursuit of justice and that successful prosecution is critical to the lawful resolution of all crimes, I believe that the apprehension of the six suspects is a giant step towards unravelling the mystery surrounding the shocking killing of the young soldier.”

He also called for the swift, fair, fearless and successful prosecution of all the suspects involved in the alleged killing of Trooper Imoro and for the courts to return a verdict that serves as a bold line of deterrence to all persons who may want to break the law.

Below is the full statement

STATEMENT OF ERNEST HENRY NORGBEY, MP FOR ASHAIMAN, ON THE ARREST OF SIX SUSPECTS IN CONNECTION WITH THE ALLEGED KILLING OF TROOPER IMORO.

Ashaiman, 13th March 2023

1. I have received, with great relief, news that the Ghana Police Service has arrested six people at various places in Ashaiman in connection with the cruel killing of Trooper Imoro Sheriff.

2. While I admit that an arrest, without more, does not fully complete the pursuit of justice and that successful prosecution is critical to the lawful resolution of all crimes, I believe that the apprehension of the six suspects is a giant step towards unravelling the mystery surrounding the shocking killing of the young soldier.

3. I commend the Ghana Police Service for their calm but swift and professional conduct thus far in meticulously investigating the circumstances surrounding Trooper Imoro’s death.

4. Through their efforts thus far, the Ghana Police have assured the good people of Ashaiman and the entire population of Ghana that the Ghana Police Service, led by the IGP COP George Akuffo Dampare, have the capacity and competence to investigate all horrifying crimes, including the kind that took Trooper Imoro to an early grave. The good people of Ghana and Ashaiman will forever remember the noble services of the men and women of the Ghana Police Service to Ashaiman when it mattered most.

5. I pray that the Attorney-General’s Department will subsequently ensure swift, fair, fearless and successful prosecution of all the suspects involved in the alleged killing of Trooper Imoro and for our courts to return a verdict that serves as a bold line of deterrence to all persons who may want to break the law.

6. May I use this opportunity to once more demand that the Parliament or an Independent Committee investigate the conduct and misconduct of the soldiers who were unlawfully deployed at Ashaiman on the 7th day of March 2023, supposedly to find the alleged killers of Trooper Imoro.

7. The proposed investigation must establish the identities of the officers responsible for the unlawful deployment and those of the soldiers who took the law into their own hands to brutalise, torture and dehumanise innocent residents of Ashaiman to find the alleged killers of Tropper Imoro.

8. The state must punish all those involved in the unlawful deployment and the resulting hooliganism that brought the image of the Ghana Armed Forces into disrepute.

9. Let me also use this opportunity to repeat my earlier call for calm in Ashaiman and to reassure the citizens of Ashaiman that I, as their representative in Parliament, will work day and night to ensure that JUSTICE is done concerning the killing of Trooper Imoro and the human rights abuses resulting from the unlawful deployment of soldiers in Ashaiman.

10. I extend my deepest condolences to the family of Trooper Imoro over the gruesome killing of their beloved son. In the same vein, I extend my heartfelt sympathies to all the people of Ghana who suffered various cases of abuse at the hands of our military on the 7th Day of March 2023.

11. By this statement, I am also thanking all the people of Ghana and the world who have sent messages of condolence, sympathy and support to the family of Trooper Imoro and the victims of the unlawful military operation in Ashaiman last week.

Signed:

Ernest Henry Norgbey

Member of Parliament for Ashaiman

YNA/WA