Security officers lack adequate training – Ayariga

Security agencies tasked with ensuring the safety of persons and property in the country lack adequate training to execute their mandate, founder of the All People’s Congress (APC), Dr Hassan Ayariga has said.

Dr Ayariga’s comment follows the death of 22-year-old Richard Osei, a resident of Krofuom in the Ashanti Region, who was allegedly beaten to death by police on the night of Thursday May 26.

The youth of the area hit the streets Tuesday May 31 following the release of the autopsy report of the deceased by the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, which cited heart failure as the cause of death of the shoe seller.

Scores of people flooded the streets in utter rejection of the claims in the report, hurling stones at police officers and invoking curses on them.

Speaking on the Executive Breakfast Show (EBS) May 31 on Class91.3FM, Dr Ayariga described the police brutality as pathetic.

“Here in Ghana, the policeman is your friend, so why will you start beating somebody. Even [apart from] the case of the policemen, I have read other stories where three army officers beat a small boy, what kind of joke is this? Are we living in a military regime or what? Why do you take the law into your hands? For God’s sake, we are one people; we have to learn to respect each other. Our attitude towards each other must be in a civilised way,” the APC leader said.

“If just within your own locality you are killing your own people, beating them, what is the degree of your level of training? For me I think it is lack of training”.

He added: “I think we should go back to the drawing board and define who a policeman is and what are their duties and roles. What is happening in this country is pathetic.”