Gunshots, Seized Phones: Restaurant manager demands probe into alleged military assault

The General Manager of Aduanepa Fie Restaurant at Akyem Osino in the Eastern Region, Richard Naa Adjei Arthur, has called for a full investigation after military personnel allegedly stormed the facility, fired gunshots, assaulted staff, beat customers and confiscated mobile phones.

Arthur recounted the terrifying ordeal in an interview with Eastern TV, sighted by GhanaWeb on July 19, 2026, describing how, what began as an ordinary cleanup at the restaurant's premises quickly descended into chaos after a soldier confronted him and accused his staff of galamsey.

"We were having general cleaning at the premises of the restaurant when we were approached by a man. He asked us what we were doing and we told him. He then said he knew we were engaging in illegal mining," Arthur said.

When he attempted to direct the soldier to use the front entrance rather than the staff entrance, the situation escalated rapidly.

"He told me, 'Do you know who I am? I am a soldier! I will stop whatever you are doing.' He started shouting at me and calling his team members, saying we were engaging in illegal mining," the manager recalled.

Arthur said he quickly contacted the Police Chief Inspector, who dispatched two officers, a regular police officer and a CID officer, to the scene.

The officers requested that all parties proceed to the police station to resolve the matter, but the soldier refused to comply.

What followed, according to Arthur, was pure chaos.

"Before we knew it, we heard gunshots and people started running helter-skelter. More soldiers had arrived and started overturning tables at the restaurant. Customers who were there had to run for their lives. Those who had ordered food and were yet to pay ran without paying.

"I was trying to observe what was going on when I suddenly received a heavy slap from behind. The other soldiers were also beating some of the boys in the restaurant," he said.

The situation took a further troubling turn when the soldiers, after initially leaving, returned to surround the restaurant and began confiscating the mobile phones of customers and staff still inside.

"I heard one person who seemed to be their commander saying, 'pick their phones, they have evidence.' One customer who had used his phone to record the incident was beaten and his phone seized," Arthur revealed.

After tailing the soldiers as they departed, the manager said he traced them to a mining company in the area called Kibi GoldFields, which he alleged had deployed the personnel as private security.

"Such companies rent private security personnel and soldiers. When they do, they should educate them on their limits. They cannot enter townships and accuse people engaging in a cleanup of engaging in galamsey. That is not right," he said.

The matter has been reported to the Ghana Police Service. The Ghana Armed Forces is yet to issue a statement on the incident.

Watch the video below:

🇬🇭 The General Manager of Aduanepa Fie Restaurant at Akyem Osino has called for an investigation into allegations that military personnel harassed staff and patrons after reportedly mistaking a routine clean-up exercise for illegal mining activity.

According to the manager, the… pic.twitter.com/bY3wNp2nkZ

— TheeNewsRoom (@TheeNewsRoom) July 19, 2026