A Senior Non Commissioned Officer (SNCO) of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) last week suffered humiliation at the hands of persons alleged to have come from National Security, when he was reportedly physically assaulted and handcuffed whilst in uniform over his inability to give way to a convoy of four vehicles.
The incident, which occurred on the Tema-Akosombo highway at the Ashaiman Tulaku section, attracted a large crowd of commuters and motorists alike, who watched in pain as the soldier, a Physical Training Instructor (PTI) at the nearby First Battalion of Infantry (1BN), was receiving slaps from other armed persons.
Report gathered by The Chronicle from the scene revealed that last Wednesday November 25, 2020, at about 0830hrs, when traffic was heavy on the stretch, the soldier, Warrant Officer Class One (W O 1) Mashud Salia, was driving his salon car towards Michel Camp.
Upon negotiating from the Ashaiman roundabout, a siren-blowing convoy of four high speeding V8 vehicles approached from his rear, forcing their way through the middle of the tight traffic.
According to eyewitnesses, the WO attempted parking off the road to give way to the convoy, but the road was so narrow that his very life and that of other motorists was at stake, so he continued in the lane.
Suddenly, the lead vehicle blocked that of the soldier, and armed men alighted from the other vehicles and allegedly started to slap him behind the steering wheel and after pulling him out.
The men, described as wearing brown khakis and armed, handcuffed the Warrant Officer who they shoved into one of their vehicles, got into the soldier’s car, and drove all to Michel Camp and handed him over to the authorities there.
So humiliating was the situation that other motorists followed to ensure that the soldier was not taken to unknown place, but upon realising the convoy had negotiated to the camp, they backed away.
As the occurrence was generating tension amongst the soldiers in the Southern Command, the authorities saw the need to address the situation lest the unexpected happens. In the morning of Saturday November 28, 2020, there was emergency durbar at Michel Camp.
The Deputy National Security Minister, Henry Quartey, who was present, together with the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Major General Thomas Oppong-Peprah, and top brass of the Ghana Army, pleaded with the soldiers present to forgive and forget. According to the Deputy Minister, appropriate sanctions would be metered out to those involved after an ongoing investigation.
He continued that the signal sent to the public was too bad, especially going into the elections.
He then promised to sponsor this year’s West Africa Security Services Association (WASSA) of the 1BN with rice, oil, assorted drinks, and enquired how many personnel would attend the recreational activity, but there was dead silence.
The COAS, Maj Gen Oppong-Peprah, assured the troops that the Military Police (MP) was going to investigate the case, and pleaded with the troops present to inform their colleagues and friends that the matter had been resolved.
As the victim PTI WO Mashud Salia marched to the front of the durbar, tears flowed freely among the soldiers whose difficult moment stemmed from the fact that their man in uniform had been disgraced by armed civilians they the soldiers had trained. The vehicles involved were AS 7249-18, VR 5571-19, BA 2871-17 and GS 7372-20.
The post Nat’l Security douses tension at Michel Camp; following assault on WO appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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