The Speaker of Parliament, Albert Bagbin, has summoned the National Security Minister, Albert Kan-Dapaah, to appear before the House on Thursday, November 9, 2023, to brief the House on the alleged military brutalities suffered by the residents of Garu and Tempane in the Upper East Region.
Responding to calls by Members of the House for a thorough probe into the despicable act of violence perpetuated by the military, the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Andrew Amoako Asiamah, who chaired proceedings at the time the matter was raised in parliament, tasked the National Security Minister to brief the lawmakers on the situation on November 9, 2023.
“At the moment, what I want to do is invite the minister to appear before the entire house and come and brief us. Probably what we are hearing is different from what the minister has on his sleeves. So let us invite the minister to appear before the house; he will come and brief the house, and we will take it on from there,” Mr Asiamah said.
“So I am asking that the Minister appear before the house on Thursday the 9th of November 2023 to brief the house concerning issues related to happenings at Garu and Tempane,” he added.
Background
Some officers of the Ghana Armed Forces have subjected scores of residents of Garu and its environs to brutalization after they invaded the area this morning.
Many residents have been left injured and traumatised after the officers subjected them to merciless beatings and other forms of abuse.
According to some of the victims of the military brutality, they were not told what their offense was but were just assaulted both physically and verbally.
Even though the reasons for the invasion remain unclear, it is widely speculated that the act was in retaliation for a confrontation that ensued between some National Security officials and a local vigilante group based in the area.
By Lawrence Odoom