Former President John Mahama has appealed to the military not to take the law into their hands in their resolve to find the killers of a uniformed young soldier.
As a former Commander in Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, he said, he appreciates how such unexpected deaths affect the military.
However, the soldiers must exercise restraint, he counselled.
“I encourage you to exercise restraint and allow due process to investigate, apprehend, prosecute and punish the perpetrator(s) of the dastardly act,” he said in a statement to commiserate with affected families as well as the Ghana Armed Forces.
His statement follows a swoop sanctioned by the military high command to arrest the perpetrators of the heinous crime at Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region.
The 22-year-old Trooper Imoro Sheriff, the murdered soldier, who is the first of two siblings, was allegedly killed at Taifa, a community in Ashaiman, on March 4, 2023.
He was stabbed to death by unknown assailants.
The military responded with a swoop that saw armed military personnel unleashing violence on residents in part of Ashaiman on March 7.
Former President Mahama said he was “deeply saddened” by the death of the young soldier.
“I pray we find peace and harmony in our dear country, as the government and state institutions immediately step in to address this potentially inflammatory development between Ashaiman and the Ghana Armed Forces; including providing commensurate compensation for all persons affected.”
According to GAF, during the course of their operation, they seized 29 slabs and 57 mini slabs of suspected Indian hemp and amnesia among other forms of the narcotics.
Also, about 184 suspects aged between 21 and 47 years old were arrested and handed over to the military police who will subsequently send them over to the Ghana Police Service for screening and further action.
Read also: Ashaiman: Brutal military invasion was not for revenge – Armed Forces
Find Mahama’s full statement below
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.
However, I encourage you to exercise restraint and allow due process to investigate, apprehend, prosecute and punish the perpetrator(s) of the dastardly act.
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.
I also sympathise with the victims of of the torture in Ashaiman as a result of this unfolding death of a serving soldier.
I pray we find peace and harmony in our dear country, as the government and state institutions immediately step in to address this potentially inflammatory development between Ashaiman and the Ghana Armed Forces; including providing commensurate compensation for all persons affected.