Former President John Dramani Mahama is calling for “commensurate compensation” for natives of Ashaiman who were arrested and tortured by soldiers who claimed to have been searching for the killers of their colleague.
In a post on his Facebook account on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, Former president John Dramani Mahama first condemned the gruesome murder of the young military officer, Trooper Imoro Sherrif, who was allegedly stabbed in the town on Saturday, March 4, 2023, and extended his condolences to the bereaved family.
“I am deeply saddened by the death of one of our soldiers, at such a young age, in Ashaiman.
Lordina and I extend our deepest condolences to his bereaved and grieving family, and the officers and men of the Ghana Armed Forces.
As your former Commander in Chief, I do appreciate how such unexpected deaths affect the Force,” he wrote on Facebook.
He then went on to condemn the invasion of the Ashaiman community and the brutality that was meted out to them, saying most of them might be innocent people who have no idea about the murder of the soldier.
“There are obviously many people who live and work in Ashaiman who are innocent of this heinous crime. The military must, therefore, refrain from meting out extra-judicial justice to them.”
He called for an intervention by government and state institutions immediately to calm the situation and then provide “commensurate compensation for all persons affected”.
Soldiers invaded the homes of the residents of Ashaiman on Tuesday at a time of a nationwide heavy downpour that left some parts of Accra flooded with some lives lost to the flood.
With military helicopters flying over the area in question, soldiers inflicted bloody assaults on the residents in the name of searching for the murderers of the young military officer.
The development has sparked reactions with analysts condemning the operation, saying while the killing of the soldier was barbaric, only the police have the legal mandate to conduct such exercises and not the military.
Meanwhile, 150 out of 184 people arrested by the soldiers have been released.