Military brutality: Civilian cries for justice

The young Artisan cum businessman, Gyimah Ibrahim from Damongo, the West Gonja District of Northern Ghana who was severely brutalized by some armed military officers is crying for justice.

The civilian who was manhandled and extorted by three armed military men believes little is being done to prosecute the case after the arrest of the military men who fell from grace.

It has been a month since the arrest of the military officers involved in the act and Gyimah Ibrahim laments the fact that the Northern Regional Police Command is doing little to prosecute the said Officers.

According to him, the Northern Regional Police Crime Officer, Superintendent Kusi Appiah on the 22nd February,2018, invited him and the West Gonja District Crime Officer, Chief Inspector S. S. Gbeve to the Regional Police Headquarters to identify the culprits for onward interrogation.

Superintendent Kusi Appiah according to him, has since not shown much interest in pursuing the case and that he keeps making excuses to the effect that he Gyimah Ibrahim is not an armed robber as perceived by the soldiers.

Gyimah Ibrahim wants Superintendent Kusi to desist delaying the process of justice and do the right thing; process the officers for court since "Justice delayed is Justice denied."

Narrating his ordeal in the hands of the military men that fateful day in an interview with a Damongo based local radio station PAD FM, Mr. Ibrahim who felt traumatised feared the military were not out to protect the citizenry. He wondered why after taking money they set him free without carrying out any investigation as they initially insisted.

All he prays for now is for justice to be served in this case to serve as a deterrent to others.

" I am disappointed with the way the Police is handling the case.I am afraid they don't want to pursue the case.They are trying to kill the case.First,the charge was robbery and now am told it is extortion and assault and as I speak,I don't even know how far they have gone with the case and anytime I call the crime officer it is always stories"lamented the disappointed Artisan.

Chief Inspector S.S. Gbeve of the Damongo Police Command who is handling the case at the District level on his part said, he as a District officer has done all that he needed to do as far as the case was concerned.

He said he is also at a loss at the moment since he has not heard anything from the regional officer for over a month regarding Gyimah's case for which reason he can't tell the date set aside for the commencement of the case.

The three officers have been charged with armed robbery,assault and extortion.

Background

It all started one fateful Tuesday afternoon around the Damongo Catholic Guest House junction,a few kilometres away from Damongo township when the victim, Gyimah Ibrahim popularly known as 'Kashinteng Boafe' had stopped by on a drive to ease himself. He was run into by some military men numbering three(3) believed to be traveling from Tamale to Wa dressed in their military uniforms with a military van.

On spotting him, they stopped by and interrogated him.

The military men queried whether that was the proper way of packing. Before the victim could respond, one of the military men forcefully opened the door of his car and found a single barrel and a pistol therein. He yelled for the attention of his colleagues that the victim was carrying a weapon and therefore a criminal.

One of the military men immediately corked his gun and ordered the victim to go on his knees (kneel) which he obliged. The car of the victim was then ransacked; all his phones were seized. A sum GhC2,800 was confiscated from the victim as well.

Gyimah Ibrahim attempted explaining that he was not a criminal and that the weapons were dully registered. He tried to show them the registration documents to the weapons but the military will have non of that. He was manhandled.

They then threatened to carry him along to Wa if he does not own up or do something. Gyimah explained that there was a police command in the district and he was willing to submit himself to any kind of investigation. The military declined to refer the victim to the district police command for investigation with the reason that the police are always in bed with criminals.

They drove him past the District Police Command and stopped a few kilometres to a near by community called Laribanga. They ask the Gyimah to "talk like a man" else if the case gets to Wa, it will become a very big case.

The military men took Ghc1000 from the victim and another undisclosed sum of money from a civilian who attempted intervening before setting Gyimah free.