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28.04.2015 Editorial

Let Justice Be Served

By Daily Guide
Let Justice Be Served
28.04.2015 LISTEN

The decision by the police to charge Private Daniel Appiah for the murder of a breadwinner of a family, James Jabik, is a step in the right direction.

Considering the circumstances underpinning the death of the deceased, we are at a loss as to what could have informed the judgment of the soldier to do what he did, especially since he was reportedly taking cover between sacks of grains in his room.

It is unfortunate that the good intentions of the authorities to deploy soldiers to a restive part of the country - Bunkpurugu – could suffer such a setback and threaten the image of the 6 Battalion of Infantry, which has over the years performed its role in supporting the police in its internal security operations during crisis.

This is not the first time that security personnel have committed such bloody acts of indiscipline, some of which were poorly handled to the detriment of the families of victims.

The military police have done their part by releasing the suspect to the civilian police to deal with an issue which has gone beyond military law.

Discipline, being the bedrock of every military institution worth its salt when breached, leads to very parlous situations such as reckless pulling of the trigger.

As if the inhumanness of killing a person for no justifiable reason is not enough, the suspect allegedly asked the wife of the victim to pull his remains to the main compound of the house.

For a woman suffering the pain of witnessing her husband killed in cold blood to be ordered to do what the soldier purportedly asked her to do is beyond imagination.

We pray the police to do all that is required of them under the circumstances so that justice is served and for a closure to be brought to the murder.

Young soldiers should be impressed upon to handle firearms with a high sense of responsibility lest they fall into the situation Private Daniel Appiah has found himself in. Let them learn from this and tread the path of discipline. Soldiering is not about being callous about human life as some are wont to think.

It is not for nothing that all segments of the military have commanders. Such structures ensure among other things, that such recklessness does not occur.

So much investment has gone into ensuring cordiality in the relations between the military and their civilian counterparts. When such irresponsible conduct occurs and threatens what has been achieved over the years, it is worrying and regrettable.

The initial attempt at covering up the murder by some soldiers who claimed that the deceased was armed and sought to seize the suspect's weapon fell flat.

It is scandalising that such lies could be put forth in order to cover such a bloody act. The speedy trial of the suspect and the meting out of justice would serve as an important deterrent to those who think the way the suspect did and drew blood.

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