Coronavirus: Stop wielding guns, we are not at war - Lawyer Sosu to security forces

Human Rights lawyer, Francis-Xavier Sosu, says it’s needless for the joint security personnel to wield guns in the fight against Coronavirus.

According to the Lawyer, the country is not at war at the moment adding that one cannot see the coronavirus with the naked eye hence security forces wielding guns at various barriers to enforce the partial lockdown within Accra and other parts of the country is totally out of place.

“Honestly speaking our security forces should not be wielding guns as part their enforcement mechanism, I’m even hoping that they don’t have live bullets in the guns they are carrying out there because this is not a war but a pandemic crisis that we are trying to resolve,” he noted.

He affirmed that majority of Ghanaians are already facing some social and psychological challenges due to the lockdown and the fear of contracting the deadly disease.

Thus for the police, soldiers and other security forces to display their guns at various checkpoints has heightened the fears of the civilians and also tortured their mindsets at the same time.

“Already every Ghanaian is depressed by the whole issue of the COVID-19 and let us not forget that we have people who are suffering from all kinds of social and psychological conditions due to the lockdown and the coronavirus. Believe me! I was at Madina yesterday and you could tell some people only come out from their homes because of food….they just want to survive so our security forces should stop frightening them with their guns.” He reiterated.

He told GhanaWeb's Ezekiel Fiifi Koomson on Wednesday, April 1, 2020, in an exclusive interview.

However, he advised the government of Ghana to direct both the police and military personnel to treat the civilians with soft gloves instead of deploying intimidating tactics.

He added that the respect for the fundamental rights of Ghanaians must be obeyed therefore the police and military should refrain from abusing the public.

Meanwhile, the Lawyer advised Ghanaians to comply with the lockdown protocols for sanity to prevail in the country.