A retired military captain, Rtd. Capt. Joel Sowu has attributed the recent attack on some policemen in the Northern region by some military personnel to the failure of the police officers in following the due procedure in an attempt to deal with crimes involving the military.
According to him, the police’s inaction was due to the lack of respect they have for the military.
Some soldiers in the Northern Regional capital, Tamale went on a rampage, attacking police officers and some residents following the arrest of their colleague.
A journalist with Diamond FM, Mohammed Ibn Arthur stated that the soldiers launched the attack to protest the arrest of their colleague who reportedly assaulted a taxi driver.
But speaking on Eyewitness News on Thursday, Captain Sowu said the Police needed not to have arrested the military officer, but rather reported him to his commander who will initiate the punitive measures or hand the officer back to the police if necessary.
“The military and the police are all security agencies. Therefore, the basic problem which has been over the year is that the police do not seem to have respect for the military. So if a military person misbehaves and for the police to arrest that person, the procedure should have been reported him to the military command in-situ. The military command in-situ will take steps, and if it is important to bring that person to the police station, that will be done,” he said.
This is not the first time the military has been cited in attacks on some police personnel in the country.
In March 2018, a police officer with the Bolgatanga Special Weapons and Tactics Unit of the Ghana Police Service was assaulted by some uniformed men believed to be members of the military.
The Upper East Regional Police Command explained that the attack occurred when some soldiers confronted the police officer, Asiamah Raymond, and ordered him to remove his military shorts.
Capt. Sowu suggested the attacks stemmed from the long dispute between the two state security institutions especially due to the police’s disrespect for the military.
“They [Police] do not seem to respect the military. The way to deal with it is that there must be a durbar between the Police and Military. First of all the Police High Command will need to talk with the policemen that ‘listen we are all discipline organisations, and therefore that respect must be mutual…If you go through the proper procedure, this issue would never have happened,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Speaker of Parliament has summoned the Defence and Interior ministers over the incident. The Ghana Armed Forces have also set up a committee to look into the attack.
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