Mason vows to pursue case of assault by Immigration officer

A Togolese mason, allegedly assaulted and injured by a Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) officer at the border of Aflao recently, has vowed to pursue the case until he secures justice.

He insisted he did nothing wrong to warrant that treatment.

Mr. Eric Akadza, 38, told the GNA that about 1800 hours on May 10, he and a colleague were on their way back to Lome from Atisukope in Aflao where they worked on a building project.

He said on reaching the frontier, he saw his colleague, Alla Ali, 18, being slapped repeatedly by a GIS officer.

Mr. Akadza said he rushed to plead, but the officer turned on him with slaps and hit him on the head with an object, injuring him.

He said as he bled from the cut, a sympathetic GIS officer led him and his colleague away to the Togolese side of the border and advised them to leave.

The victim said he received treatment in a Lome clinic, reported to the Aflao police the following day and was given a form to attend hospital.

He said he had been waiting for the results of the investigations.

Mr. Stephen Antwi, an Assistant Immigration Control Officer involved, admitted the case but described it as a “coincidence”.

He said he (Mr Antwi) had settled the case with the complainant there and then, who himself pleaded for forgiveness “having realized he injured me.”

“I only tapped Akadza on the shoulders after he ignored an order to stop, and he instead hit my forehead with an empty cellular phone cover, injuring me”, Mr. Antwi alleged.

He said he responded by hitting Akadza on the head and surprisingly his wrist watch cut his head.

A senior GIS officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, also admitted the case and said the issue was in the domain of the sector executives who had travelled.

A close Aflao police source said investigations had been concluded.