Adib Sani, Security analyst
A security analyst, Mr Adib Sani has criticized the Military who were in Ejura in the Ashanti region to control the protesting crowd for using the last resort instead of the first.
He explained on TV3’s Key Points on Saturday July 3 that the first resort in controlling an unarmed crowd is not the use of lethal ammunition as was used in Ejura.
His comments follow the gruesome murder of Macho Kakaa in Ejura.
There was also a violent clash among the military officers and the youth of the area who were demonstrating in that town on Tuesday, June 29 following the murder.
This led to the death of two persons with four sustaining various degrees of injury.
Mr Sani told host Abena Tabi that “Even if you are pushed to use force, we have different types of forces, you can start with the use of water cannons, tear gas, pepper spray. The last resort is the use of lethal ammunition.
“Unfortunately, when you take a look at the video that surfaced online rather the last resort was the first resort. When you look at the videos especially the one that shows the arrival of the military which was in the lead and the Police behind them and water cannon by them you realize that they simply went to action firing.”
Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police Mr Oppong-Boanuh has explained to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament the circumstances under which Police officers can shoot at protesting crowd.
He stated that the laws permit the men and women in uniform to use lethal force when their lives are in danger.
He said “Honourable Chair, you and I know that in very fluid situations, there are no hard and fast rules when the lives of the Police officers are threatened, that they should go through all these. So, depending on the nature of the situation you are dealing with, then you can go through all these.
He added “Yes, we do have a manual on the use of force. Normally, you will speak to the people through a megaphone or you shout if they can hear you and you spray water, you throw tear gas and then you use blank amour and eventually you use live amour,” he explained.
He further explained that even though protestors may not be carrying deadly weapons, the officers still need to protect themselves.
“Let me add that if you are dealing with unarmed demonstrators, then you will not go for live amour, but when you see somebody in the crowd holding a weapon which is capable of being used to kill or injure a Police officer, our laws permit us to use lethal force to eliminate that threat to the officers on duty. So, it depends on the situation you are dealing with,” he said.
“What people don’t know is ‘A’ may be armed, ‘B’ may not. So, being in the crowd doesn’t necessarily mean you know what is happening but technically, you are responsible for whatever the person is doing. So, we take steps to eliminate that threat to the officers,” he said.