Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, has suggested that providing a uniform for National Security officers may help reduce attacks on them by civilians.
His proposal comes in the wake of a military assault on residents of Garu-Tempane as retaliation for an alleged attack on National Security operatives by a vigilante group in Garu.
Mr Ayariga, in an interview condemned the actions of the youth but emphasized the need for the Ministry to establish protocols when deploying officers to specific areas.
He stressed the importance of officers wearing uniforms in areas with security concerns, as it allows civilians to easily identify them as soldiers, police officers, immigration officers, or fire officers.
“We all know that there are security issues in Bawku, Garu, Pusiga, therefore, if any member of the security agencies is moving into that zone, there must be protocols, you should be in your uniform so that the civilians from afar will be able to identify you as a soldier, policeman, immigration man, fire officer. In this instance, they were not in uniforms, they were driving in a Landcruiser which was not numbered [registered].”
“They said they were on an operation and the people didn’t know which operation it was in Garu. You come and be in an obscure corner. The military as an institution has no basis for deciding to go and carry out a mass attack on the entire community because one, two or three of their own were attacked. They must understand that these people were not wearing military uniforms for the people to easily identify that these were soldiers for the people to go and attack them,” Mahama Ayariga told Umaru Sanda Amadu.
In the Garu incident, the officers were not in uniform and were driving an unregistered Land Cruiser, making it difficult for the community to identify them and understand the purpose of their operation.
The reported incident involved military personnel launching a dawn raid on Garu and assaulting residents.
While the Ghana Armed Forces justified their actions, accusing local youth of initiating the attack on National Security operatives, the National Security Ministry refuted the reports and explained that it was a joint operation aimed at seizing weapons used in the October 24 attack by a vigilante group in Garu.
A member of the Interior and Defense Committee of Parliament, Cletus Avoka, hinted that the committee would summon the Minister for National Security, Albert Kan Dapaah, to provide an account of the alleged brutality on Garu residents by personnel from the Ghana Armed Forces.