Member of Parliament for Bawku Central Mahama Ayariga, has petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), over acts of violation of human rights by officers of the Ghana Arm Forces (GAF) in Bawku.
His petition is in connection with the recent killing of some 10 civilians in Bawku in the Upper East Region, following the renewed conflict there.
The Ghana Armed Forces had in a statement, explained that they rather engaged a group of armed men and neutralised six of them.
But Mahama Ayariga who is not convinced about the GAF explanation, is demanding demanding investigations into the matter.
“In my capacity as the Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, I, hereby lodge a complaint on behalf of some residents of Bawku under regulation 2(2)(a) and (b) of C.I. 67 pertaining to several acts of violation of the human rights of some residents of Bawku by members of the Ghana Armed Forces.
“Among the rights violated included the sacred right to life of 10 citizens of Bawku who were shot to death by members of the armed forces engaged in Operation Gongong in Bawku on Tuesday 31st January and Wednesday 1st February 2023. Children’s rights. Women’s rights and property rights were violated,” he noted.
According to the petition, the military did not “deny shooting and killing these residents of Bawku. A statement issued by the military authorities on 2nd February 2023 admitting responsibility for the killings is attached.”
He is also demanding compensation of Five Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis (Ghc 500,000.00) for each and every one of those whose lives were taken, to be paid to their immediate families as punitive damage.
He also wants GAF to restrain its officers from “further acts of brutalities in Bawku in the exercise of their responsibilities to maintain peace in Bawku and adequate compensation to those who have suffered physical harm.”
Click on the link below to read full of Mahama Ayariga’s petitioned against the GAF
