Ejura Killings: IGP Defends Use Of Lethal Force

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) James Oppong-Boanuh has defended the occasional use of force by police personnel to quell protests, especially if officers’ lives are under imminent threat.

The IGP, who appeared before the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament on Wednesday, June 30, stated that unforeseen circumstances might sometimes warrant the use of reasonable force to respond to escalating situations.

In response to questions by members of the Committee on the recent killings in Ejura-Sekyeredumase during a protest by the youth, the IGP insisted that security personnel often act based on prevailing situations on the ground.

“Honourable Chair, you and I know that in very fluid situations, there are no hard and fast rules when the lives of the police officers are threatened, that they should go through all these. So, depending on the nature of the situation you are dealing with, then you can go through all these,” IGP Oppong-Boanuh explained.

The police boss also said in “dealing with unarmed demonstrators, then you will not go for live amour, but when you see somebody in the crowd holding a weapon which is capable of being used to kill or injure a police officer, our laws permit us to use lethal force to eliminate that threat to the officers on duty. So, it depends on the situation you are dealing with”.

The IGP’s comments follow the killing of some individuals by security officers at Ejura in the Ashanti Region during a protest by the youth in a community in the municipality on Tuesday. The protests were over the death of Mohammed Anyass Ibrahim, alias Macho Kaaka.

The officers were called in by the Municipal Security Council (MUSEC), headed by the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mohammed Salisu Bamba.

Macho Kaaka was 45. He had been attacked by some unknown people in Ejura last Friday.

On Monday afternoon, June 28, 2021, he died at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi, where he was receiving treatment.

Meanwhile, MCE Bamba has denied any knowledge of Ibrahim’s social media-based activism.

Ibrahim regularly updated his Facebook page with videos detailing the lack of development in his municipality. A cursory look through his posts shows that the deceased was interested in social issues significantly.

He was also known to the Economic Fighters League (EFL) and the conveners of #FixTheCountry.

The attack on Kaaka has been connected by members of the general public to the deceased’s tendency to post these videos.

But speaking on Joy News on Tuesday afternoon, MCE Bamba denied knowledge of Ibrahim’s social media activities.

“I had no knowledge of his videos until [after] his demise,” the local government head said in the interview.