James Agalga, a deputy Minister of Interior under the erstwhile Mahama government
James Agalga, a deputy Minister of Interior under the erstwhile Mahama government has suggested that government released the report by the Ejura Committee to cover up its own weakness.
Agalga asserts that government made the report public on Monday, September 27, 2021; due to persistent pressure from the family of the victims.
He disclosed that families of the victims had declared their intentions to invoke the Right to Information to press home their demand for the report compelling government to release it.
“I want to think the government has released the report because provisions in the Right to Information Act, clearly, were invoked by the families of the victims, so it was becoming embarrassing, so the government at a point felt compelled to release the report,” Mr. Agalga said on Accra-based Citi FM.
The Committee’s report which was released on Monday, among other things concluded that the intervention by the military was unwarranted.
It recommended that compensation be paid to the injured and families of the deceased victims. It also appealed to government to build recreational centres in Ejura for the youth.
It further recommended that the District Police Commander of Ejura be transferred adding that the Ejura MCE, Mohammed Salisu Bamba – who had already resigned – be dismissed.
“The Committee recommends adequate compensation for the families of the two deceased persons, namely, Abdul Nasir Yusif and Murtala Suraj Mohammed. Adequate compensation must also be paid to other injured persons, namely Louis Ayikpa (20 years), Awal Misbau (16 years) and Nasif Nuhu (30 years). These are the names known to the Committee.
“The Committee recommends the immediate transfer of the District Police Commander of Ejura, DSP Philip Kojo Hammond, first for his incompetence in handing the situation and for the fact that, his relationship with the community seems to have been damaged beyond repair.
“We further recommend the structural expansion of the Ejura Police Station and an increase in personnel,” parts of the report read.