Salisu Bamba said his presence in Ejura would have worsen things
• The MCE for Ejura-Sekyeredumase has appeared before the Commission investigating the killings at Ejura
• He explained that he was not in Ejura during the violence because he didn’t think it would be helpful
• He said past experiences gave him reason to believe that his presence in the town would have even escalated the situation more
The Municipal Chief Executive Officer for Ejura-Sekyeredumase, Mohammed Salisu Bamba, has explained that, contrary to the belief that had he been present in Ejura at the time of the violence, the situation might not have escalated that much, he believes otherwise.
Explaining why he thought so to the Commission of Inquiry set up by the Interior Ministry to probe the circumstances leading to the shooting of two persons during a protest at Ejura in the Ashanti region, he said owing to things that had happened in the immediate past, he was sure things would have been worse with him around.
He explained that even the police had told a lie about his involvement in something when he had no hand in it.
“Actually, looking at how the whole environment was polarized, it could have been worse. When the incident happened, and if you look at the information going round, as you clearly stated, I was the first person that they were trying to link the suspect to. That was number one. Number two, the police themselves, they instigated the youth against the police.
“Yesterday, I heard the police addressing some warning letter. If you look at the document that I presented, they were even linking the warning letter to me, that I instructed the police to issue a warning letter to the gentleman which I actually know nothing about. So, I think my presence, just the way they attacked the police, and the police retreated, my presence could have made the situation worse,” he told the Committee.
Members of the committee include George Kingsley Koomson, a justice of the Court of Appeal as Chairman, Security expert, Dr. Vladimir Antwi Danso, and Juliet Amoah, Executive Director of Penplusbyte, a civil society organization.
The Secretary of the committee is Marie Louis Simmons, a principal state attorney.
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