Editorial by The Chronicle: Those who attacked GIS officials at Aflao should be dealt with severely

The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) issued a statement over the weekend to condemn the attack on its personnel stationed at Beat 6 in the Aflao Municipality by unknown persons.

According to the statement, the GIS personnel, who were on patrol duties around 11:25pm, were pelted with stones, resulting in serious injuries to three members of the team who are currently receiving treatment at the Ketu South Municipal Hospital under stiff security.

The statement further said the assailants were dispersed by warning shots from the patrol team ahead of the arrival of a reinforcement team of Immigration officers. One bystander, however, sustained injuries from a gunshot and is currently responding to treatment.

“We condemn the attack in no uncertain terms, and advise border residents of Aflao, commuters, and citizens in general, to consider border officials as people working ultimately for the safety of our motherland.

While we appreciate the cooperation and support from border residents, and citizens as a whole, these attacks on officers by some members of the public must stop immediately,” the statement said.

“Management of GIS will continue to keep a close eye on the situation at Aflao, and all necessary mechanisms will be deployed to keep border security uncompromised. Management calls on all officers, especially at the Aflao Sector Command, to remain resolute and not be deterred by the unfortunate incident,” it added.

The GIS statement is, however, silent on why the personnel were attacked in the middle of the night. The Chronicle, nevertheless, thinks whether they provoked the assailants or not, it is condemnable for citizens of this country to attack security officials who are performing their legitimate duties. Over the past five years or so, the attacks on security officials have been on the ascendency for no justifiable reasons.

Indeed, the military, in most of these cases, have responded to such attacks with brute force, and The Chronicle has always condemned them for abusing the ‘monopoly over the use of force’ to maltreat the civilian population.

The truth must, however, be told that it is only a fool that will sit down for a marauding dog to bite him when he has a stick he could have used to defend himself.

As we earlier indicated, the military have the monopoly over the use of force, so if you, a civilian, think you can unjustifiably attack a soldier and go scot free that is your own cup of tea.

But it appears despite the reaction of the military anytime one of them is attacked, the personnel of the security forces are still suffering in the hands of the civilian population, sometimes for performing their legitimate duties.

In our view, this is happening because the police are yet to arrest, prosecute, and secure the sentencing of civilians who attack security personnel without any justifiable cause.

The Chronicle is, therefore, appealing to the police administration to up their game when it comes to investigations into such matters. This will serve as a deterrent to others who may be contemplating launching attacks on security personnel performing their legitimate duties.

With regards to the latest incident, we think the management of the GIS has a lot to do to ensure a cordial relationship with the people living at Aflao. Sometime in 2021, The Chronicle visited Nyive, a border town in the Ho Municipality, and saw the good relationship between the GIS officials and the citizens of the area.

With this kind of relationship, there is no way the inhabitants will not complement the work of the security personnel manning the border by leaking information to them. This is the reason why we think management of the GIS has a lot to do to ensure peaceful coexistence with the civilian population at Aflao.

Of course, in every society there are bound to be miscreants, and anytime such people are fished out, they must be dealt with according to the laws of the land. We, therefore, expect the GIS to collaborate with the police to locate and arrest those who committed the crime at Aflao and deal with them severely.