Armed Forces Deny Assaulting Residents Of Volta Region

The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has denied allegations of brutalities against residents of the Volta Region.

“The attention of the Ghana Armed Forces has once again been drawn to allegations of military personnel deployed along the borders in the Volta Region intimidating residents, entering their homes and preventing them from registering in the ongoing voters’ registration exercise,” a statement from GAF read.

According to the security agency, its “checks and verifications” from sources prove that the accusations are “false and unfounded”.

Military personnel have been sent to some border towns in the country, one of which is the Volta Region.

Even though the Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul has stated that the deployment is to secure Ghana's borders against the importation of COVID-19 due to the illegal entry of foreigners into the country, the opposition New Democratic Congress (NDC) is of the view that the presence of the military in the regions known to be NDC strongholds is to intimidate residents to prevent them from registering for the new voters' ID card.

There have been several reports from residents and chiefs in the region, accusing these security officers of assaulting residents and causing fear among them.

But the Ghana Armed Forces in an initial statement stressed that “this issue has been investigated, and no soldier has been involved in any such act”.

In this recent release, the security agency said its “troops have conducted themselves with professionalism and maintained a posture of non-violence and intimidation”.

---citinewsroom