"The matter has been settled" — Afenyo-Markin justifies Albert Kan-Dapaah’s parliamentary ‘snub’

Deputy Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, says that the National Security Minister, Albert Kan-Dapaah, will no longer be required to honour his summons by the House over the military attacks on residents of Garu and Tempane Districts in the Upper East Region.

He explained that this was because the matter has been closed, as the eight people arrested and remanded have been released.

One person was reported dead and over 50 others hospitalized after some military personnel allegedly unleashed attacks on them following their alleged attacks on some national security operatives.

The National Security Minister was therefore slated to inform lawmakers of the incident on Thursday but failed to show up.

Responding to a question by the Member of Parliament for Buem, Kofi Adams, on when the Minister would be scheduled to brief the House on the matter in Accra on Friday, Mr. Afenyo-Markin said that the issue has been laid to rest following the release of the eight residents who were arrested as a result of the situation.

“Leadership asked me to engage the National Security Minister, and I came to report the outcome of the engagement, which led to the National Security Ministry releasing the gentlemen who were in custody. I must explain here that at the time I was sent here, the court had remanded them for two weeks. Upon all considerations, National Security, through its prosecutor, applied for rescission of the said order, upon which the court granted. And the same day, the government ensured that all those gentlemen were sent to Garu and handed over to their families,” he said.

“So Mr. Speaker, that matter has been settled. The National Security did what was supposed to be done, and followed due process. So Mr. Speaker, that matter is closed,” he said.