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The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has rubbished reports accusing three of its personnel of their involvement in robbery activities at Nsakina, a suburb of Amasaman in the Greater Accra Region on Saturday, June 14, 2022.
A statement issued and signed by Naval Captain Michael Larbi, Director of Public Relations of GAF, said GAF wishes to state categorically that the Police have not made such an arrest.
Concerning the story published, The Chronicle Newspaper said officers were arrested and detained at the Amasaman Police Station for alleged extortion, unlawful seizure of mobile phones, and forced entry into a premise at Nsakina.
The statement explained that though pictures of the said three soldiers were depicted alongside the said story, the allegation of robbery has not been established against them.
GAF therefore said it was “premature for such conclusions to be drawn and for their pictures to have been put in the public domain.”
“It must be placed on record that following a complaint made by a Nigerian national and also based on a request by the Amasaman Police, GAF, through a picture, was able to identify one soldier and subsequently two colleagues who happened to be at Amasaman on the said date”
“They were invited by the Military Police on Friday 10 June 2022, to assist in investigations into an initial claim of seizure of phones, extortion and forced entry into a premise at Nsakina” the statement noted.
Setting the record straight, it said that based on a joint investigation into the allegation between the Military Police and Civil Police the “Military Police escorted the three soldiers to the Amasaman Police Station where they were compelled to avail themselves for their photographs to be taken as part of a routine investigation process.”
They maintained that it was “wrong” that the pictures were released to The Chronicle and into the public domain alleging the suspect’s engagement in the robbery activity when that fact has not been established yet.
Part of the statement added that “From preliminary checks by the Military Police, the soldiers, one of whom has relatives in the area prone to robbers, claimed they monitored suspicious movements in a particular house while on a visit. They proceeded to the house and were ushered in willingly by an occupant”
“Upon entry, they noticed some Nigerians busily working on laptops. The leader of the group denied involvement in cyber fraud or any criminal activity but expressed readiness to report any such acts to the security services and therefore requested the mobile number of one of the soldiers.”
It also emphasised the allegation that the soldiers scaled a wall to seize mobile phones and extort monies have all been refuted by the soldiers.
The Armed Forces served noticed that it does not condone any criminal act by its personnel and would not shield any soldier engaged in such activities.
GAF urged the media henceforth to contact them for any clarification of any claims to ensure accurate information is published.
Find attach the full statement
