The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has condemned a story published in a segment of the Ghanaian media on Thursday, June 16, 2022, which claimed that three soldiers had been arrested for robbery by the Amasaman Police on Saturday, June 4, 2022.
The GAF indicated unequivocally that no such arrest has been made by the police.
Despite the fact that images of three troops were shown accompanying the report, the GAF claimed in a statement on Thursday, June 16, that the charge of robbery against them had not been proven. As a result, such findings are premature, and their images have been released into the public domain.
“It should be noted that, following a complaint from a Nigerian national and a request from the Amasaman Police, GAF was able to identify one soldier and two coworkers who happened to be in Amasaman on the abovementioned date using a photograph.” On Friday, June 10, 2022, they were invited by the Military Police to participate in investigations into an initial claim of phone seizure, extortion, and forced entrance into a premise at Nsakina.
“As a result of this, the Military Police and Civil Police joined forces to investigate the claims.” As a result, the Military Police accompanied the three men to the hospital.
They were forced to appear at the Amasaman Police Station to have their photographs taken as part of a standard investigation. However, these photographs have been leaked to The Chronicle and into the public domain with the claim that they were involved in robbery, despite the fact that this has not been proven.
“From preliminary checks by the Military Police, the soldiers, one of whom has relatives in the area prone to robbers, claimed they monitored suspicious movements in a particular house while on a visit. They proceeded to the house and were ushered in willingly by an occupant. Upon entry, they noticed some Nigerians busily working on laptops. The leader of the group denied involvement in cyber fraud or any criminal activity but expressed readiness to report any such acts to the security services and therefore requested for the mobile number of one of the soldiers.
“The allegation that the soldiers scaled a wall to seize mobile phones made by the Nigerian and as to whether the soldiers really extorted monies have been refuted by the soldiers. Nonetheless these allegations are being jointly investigated by the Military Police and the Civil Police and the truth yet to be ascertained. It is therefore unclear the motive of the haste in releasing such information
with pictures into the public domain, on a yet to be determined matter.
“The Ghana Armed Forces reiterates that it does not condone any such acts and wishes to assure the public that it will not shield any soldier engaged in any criminal activity. However it is prudent that the media and other stakeholders follow due process for the veracity of claims to be made to ensure accurate information is published.
“GAF therefore wishes to urge The Chronicle and other media partners that its doors are open for the necessary clarification to ensure a balanced reportage at all times.”
