Authorities to deal with culprits in Suame police station military attack
The Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Armed Forces have partnered to investigate an alleged assault of police by soldiers at the Suame Police Station in the Ashanti Region.
In a joint release, the police and military hierarchy pointed out that officers involved in the clashes on Friday, October 29, will not be spared.
Reports indicate that cops stationed at Suame Roundabout arrested and handcuffed a plain-clothed person riding an unregistered motorcycle on the same day at about 10 am.
The suspect was later identified as a soldier attached to the 4th Battalion Infantry after being sent to the Suame police station for processing.
The soldier, who got infuriated by the action of the police, called his colleagues who stormed the Suame police station and allegedly assaulted police on duty and released him.
This resulted in long hours of tension, which was quelled after the intervention of leaders from the two security agencies.
“The Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Armed Forces have commenced a full-scale investigation into the incident, and anyone found culpable will be dealt with administratively and according to law,” the joint statement said.
It added: “The two security institutions are committed to a harmonious relationship and will not condone any proven act of wrongdoing of personnel. We want to assure the general public of our unflinching commitment to peace, security and harmony in the country.”
This would not be the first time such attacks have occurred in the country.
Such misunderstandings between military and police are common in various parts of the country, with the police being at the receiving end.
Local ‘wars’ between security agencies
In 2018, the Ministry for the Interior set up a committee to investigate and propose solutions to a similar clash after seven people got injured in a bloody fight between the military and police in the Northern Region.
On that occasion, a soldier beat up a taxi driver and seized the car after a misunderstanding.
The victim reported the matter to the police, and the soldier was arrested.
Other soldiers who were unhappy over the arrest of their colleagues charged and assaulted police and other residents they came across in Tamale.
Photos showed a bleeding cop after the incident.
The Ghana Police Service and the Military High Command condemned the development but barely four years after the probe by the committee, a solution has not been implemented to prevent the rivalry.
While security expert Adam Bonaa described the clashes as “embarrassing”, Security Analyst at the Kofi Annan International Peace-Keeping Training Centre Dr Kwesi Aning identified “long-standing split tension between them (police and military)”, partly due to the “outdated nature of the security legislation governing their operations.”
Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) also called for discipline within the rank of the military.
“Occupy Ghana is extremely concerned and say we are disgusted at the criminal assault reportedly inflicted on Police Officers by elements of the Arm Forces in the Tamale Metropolis in the northern region”.