'You Had No Right to Beat Ashaiman Residents' - Nana Ofori Owusu Blasts Military

PPP National Chairman, Nana Ofori Owusu has slammed the Military High Command for sanctioning their officers to storm Ashaiman and brutalize residents over the death of Imoro Sherrif, a soldier.

The military officer in his early twenties was stabbed to death on his way home.

Following the death of the soldier, troops spotted in armored vehicles invaded Ashaiman, pulled residents from their homes and various places and whipped them mercilessly.

Over 100 residents were also captured and sent to the base of the Military but were later released.

After the military brutalities, the High Command released a statement informing the public the soldiers' action was a sanctioned operation.

But to Nana Ofori, the Military has no right to besiege the Ashaiman community.

"The Military has no right to invade communities and take the law into their hands . . . We cannot condone this single act. It's just not possible. That the unfortunate loss of life, any loss of life has gone against the State but the Millitary cannot circumvent the structures we have as a society because if you do that, you are eroding the confidence in our security system in terms of the Police and the work we have to do in this country. Train for external aggression is different from internal investigation and apprehension of culprits in our society. We need law and order. We need discipline and we need the discipline from the Military," he told host Kwami Sefa Kayi.

"Are they guilty because of where they live?", he further questioned the Military's right to beat the residents.

"This profiling is a very horrible profile . . . It can never be correct," he snapped.

He called on the Military to respect the laws of the country, stating, "the Military, in their quest to seek justice, they cannot circumvent the constitution of the land because the constitution of this land doesn't give them the right to do what they did. They should have gone through the Police".

"They should have held emergency meetings with the Police for the Police to teach them the structures and processes to follow to make sure that the people who committed this heinous crime by stabbing and killing the gentleman are brought to book and made sure that law and order and justice and discipline, fairness, equity must be our hallmark. We can't just do things because we feel like it. I cannot go outside slapping people because I feel like it," he reacted on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" show.