Minority demands bi-partisan probe into Ayawaso shooting incident

The Minority in Parliament has asked government to launch bi-partisan investigation into Thursday’s shooting incident near a polling station in the just ended Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election.

Some masked persons who were heavily armed and said to be national security operatives, invaded the residence of the NDC candidate in the election, Delali Brempong where they allegedly shot and injured at least six persons.

The incident temporarily disrupted voting at the La Bawaleshie Presbyterian Basic School 1, just few metres from the shooting grounds. It also forced the NDC to pull-out all its agents and announced a withdrawal from the election.

NDC chairman Samuel Ofosu Ampofo explained at a news conference Thursday that they could not guarantee the safety of their agents and officials deployed to monitor the by-election which was eventually won by the New Patriotic Party.

Commenting on the matter for the first time Friday, the Minority spokesperson on Defense and the Interior, James Agalga said the incident goes to show that Ghanaians are insecure in the country.

“This is a clear manifestation for the state of insecurity in which the country finds itself in,” he stated.

“For the first time in our political history, masked men whether or not they belong to any of the known security agencies of state established by law is a question you and I must look for answers to,” Mr. Agalga noted.

The MP was not happy about how the masked ‘security personnel’ had access to the accoutrements they used, something that is ordinarily not the case.

“Who has raised a private army under this constitutional dispensation? We are in dangerous times; the identity of those people must be established.

“Who gave them the AK47 assault rifles? Are those weapons that belong to the state? If the weapon do not belong to the state, should they not be charged with unlawful possession of fire arms? Who gave them the SWAT vehicles?” Mr. Agalga questioned.



According to him, “those men do not belong to the counterterrorism unit of the Police Service” for which reason a bi-partisan investigation must be conducted into the incident which has received wide condemnation.

The minority thus called for appropriate authorities ensure that all persons involved in the shooting incident are brought to book.



Meanwhile, the minority said it cannot accept the results of the by-election, thus will not recognized Ms. Lydia Alhassan as the MP-elect.