Docket on boy brutalized by soldiers yet to reach AG

Police in Tamale have said they are yet to forward the docket of the sixteen year old boy, who was brutalized by soldiers, to the Attorney General’s office for advise, weeks after they took over the case.

According to the Northern Regional Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Chief, DSP John Anane, his outfit is awaiting an official statement from the victim, who had not yet given one, despite several invitations from the police.

“It’s a very delicate issue. We wanted to send the docket to the Attorney General (AG) for advise, but we realized that the complainant has not given any statement. Since then, we’ve been calling him to come and give a statement, but he hasn’t yet done that. We want him to come and give us a statement before we send it for advise,” he explained.

“We have got the medical report oh him, but we still needed to see him personally to get some further information from him. We have sent for him more than 3 times. He is staying in Accra and his condition is now stable, so I don’t know why he’s still not coming. He should be able to tell us how many soldiers beat him and how he was beaten. We need to have that information before we go to court.”

The victim, Christopher Bam, was reportedly beaten  by the military officers at Tamale in the Northern Region, for allegedly stealing a Tecno mobile phone.

He has since been discharged by the Nsawam Government Hospital where he was receiving treatment.

The Northern Regional Command of the Ghana Armed Forces, handed over three of the five soldiers who brutally assaulted the teenager, to the Northern Regional Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, for thorough investigations.

The soldiers were then granted police inquiry bail as investigations progressed

Speaking to Citi News, the Public Relations Officer of the Northern Regional Police Command, ASP Ebenezer Tetteh said, “We took statements from them and have granted them police inquiry bail so we have released them to the military authorities.”

The Ghana Armed Forces said they had found the soldiers guilty after their own investigations into the incident, adding that they would be punished accordingly.

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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana