Military started shooting at Ejura protesters immediately they arrived – Victim’s brother

The brother of one deceased victim of the Ejura disturbance has revealed soldiers deployed to the scene shot into the crowd as soon as they got closer to the protesters.

Nobody from the youth threw stones or any missile to warrant the shoot out, Issahaku Abubakari, a relative of the late Abdul-Nasir Yusif, said on Monday, July 12, when he took his turn before a committee tasked to probe the matter.

“I was standing at the junction when I saw the military men approaching in their vehicle. I stood there waiting to see what will unfold. When they got to the place, they stopped and alighted.

“Immediately they alighted, they gave two warning shots in the sky. I cannot tell how many they were, but I think they were about seven or eight. One of them shot again. It was at this time that I decided to run for my dear life.

“When I moved, I saw one of the bullets move past my head and hit a transformer ahead of me. I turned and saw another military man kneeling to point his gun. He got up, knelt and shot again,” brother of the deceased spoke in Hausa.

Mr Abubakari also said he did not see any of the protesters holding a gun or throwing missiles, as stated by the Commanding Officer of the 4th Infantry Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Kwesi Ware Peprah.

According to the military chief, the protesters shot first, and his men returned fire.

“The aim was not to kill. It was just unfortunate. As a matter of fact, I even suspect that the weapon fired from protesters might have hit one of them”.

To back his claims that the demonstrators had guns, he explained that: “If you are not a professional and there is another rifle firing, you wouldn’t know, and that is why some people are saying that they [protesters] were not handling weapons. The ordinary civilian doesn’t know”.

Call for aid

Brother of the late Yusif then made a passionate appeal for the government to support his late brother’s surviving child.

“You have been commissioned to investigate this matter. I pray that Allah protects you as you work to uncover the truth, but my brother died, leaving a daughter behind.

“So, I pray that if there are means to help the daughter, the government will come in. I also pray for justice to prevail in this matter,” he added.

What led to the protests?

Ibrahim Muhammed, also known as Kaaka, was attacked by a mob, and he later died due to injuries.

Witness accounts showed that the deceased was ambushed in front of his house when he was returning home on his motorbike at about 1:30 am on Sunday, June 27, 2021.

Ibrahim Muhammed was rushed to the Ejura Government Hospital to receive medical treatment after the attack.

He was later transferred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, where he died at midday on Monday, June 28, 2021, the Ashanti Regional Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), Godwin Ahianyo, told the media at a press briefing.

Providing an account of the incident, the widow of the deceased, Sahada Hudu, said she found him in a pool of blood after the attack.

“I thought my husband was driving away goats from the house at the time. Little did I know that he was being attacked. We saw him in a pool of blood. The people bolted as soon as we opened the door to check what was happening,” she recounted.

Before his death, Ibrahim Muhammed, aged 45, took to social media, where he posts critiques in the Ejura Municipality and other issues of national importance.

His last activity on Facebook was to share a post criticizing the arrest of 15 members of the #TheFixCountry at the High Court Complex on June 25.

In the aftermath of his death, scores of angry residents stormed the streets in Ejura to demand justice over the murder of Ibrahim Muhammed, aka Kaaka, a social activist.

Two shot dead, four hospitalised

Two protestors died while four others were left in critical condition after law enforcement officers shot into a crowd demonstrating over the death of Kaaka.

The other injured persons were taken to the Ejura Government Hospital for treatment.

Court Remands Three Suspected Killers Of Kaaka

Meanwhile, a District Court in Asokwa in the Ashanti Region on July 2 remanded three into police custody in connection with the murder of Kaaka.

Isaka Ibrahim, aka Anyas, Fuseini Alhassan and Idi Mohammed, were slapped with conspiracy to commit crime, to wit murder.

The three are to reappear on July 22, 2021.

The Committee of Inquiry

The three-member committee of inquiry was announced on Thursday, July 1, by the Interior Minister Ambrose Dery.

It comprises George Kingsley Koomson, a judge in the Court of Appeal, international relations and security expert Prof. Vladimir Antwi-Danso, and Juliet Amoah, a media-tech innovator.

The tripartite committee was given a 10-day period with which to complete their investigations.

The constitution of the committee followed a directive by President Nana Akufo-Addo to the Ministry of Interior to investigate the circumstances that led to the death of social activist Ibrahim Anyass Mohammed and others during a protest in Ejura.