Okada rider allegedly shot by military officer at Aflao

Korku Tengey a 35-year-old ‘Okada’ rider is currently battling for his life after he was allegedly shot by a military officer yet to be identified.

The incident occurred mid-morning at the Aflao Beat 9 market close to the Beat 9 border in the Ketu South municipality of the Volta Region.

Eyewitnesses told the Ghana News Agency that the victim was shot following a confrontation between some security officers and Okada riders operating around the border.

One Immigration Officer, whose identity was not disclosed was also said to have sustained gunshot wounds during the confrontation but has since been treated and discharged.

A source at the Ketu South Municipal Hospital, where the victim was rushed to, told the GNA on condition of anonymity that the victim was rushed to the emergency unit of the facility in an unconscious state around midday Sunday.

“We were attending to an emergency when the victim was rushed into the unit. He was unconscious and his leg was almost gone, and we were told he was shot by a soldier after some misunderstandings at the beat 9 border.

“It was not easy, the guy was going into shocks, so we had to resuscitate him and rush him to the theater, but his condition was getting worse as he had a fracture in his leg necessitating transferring him to the Ho Teaching hospital.

A video in circulation since Sunday shows a young man believed to be the victim on the floor with blood oozing from his leg and blood stains around him.

Reports further indicate that later Sunday evening, further gun shots were heard fired by security officers to ward off angry residents, who were massing up at the scene of the incident for reprisal attacks on the security personnel.

The incident has resulted in mounting tension between residents, mostly the youth, and the security agencies in the border town, our sources say.

Mr Maxwell Kofi Lugudor Ketu South Municipal Chief Executive and head of the Municipal Security Council (MUSEC) told the GNA in an interview after an emergency MUSEC meeting narrated Tuesday, that the immigration officer was said to have spotted the motorcycle rider at the border that morning and signaled him to stop for the pillion rider to be identified.

The immigration officer was said to have insisted that the pillion rider was a foreigner and not a Ghanaian, but the rider also maintained he was carrying a brother, a Ghanaian on the bike and prevented the officer from subjecting him to scrutiny to establish his nationality.

Mr Lugudor said the back and forth led to bitter exchanges and physical confrontations between the immigration officer and the rider and other Okada riders, who trooped to the scene in solidarity with their colleague.

Sensing danger, the officer invited the military officer to the scene for reinforcement, but still the rider maintained his grounds and would not allow the immigration officer to profile the pillion rider.

The MCE said things then took a different turn ending in a fierce physical struggle between the rider and the soldier, during which the soldier fired his duty weapon, with the bullets hitting the rider and the immigration officer in the process.

Madam Abla Dzifa Gomashie, Member of Parliament for Ketu South, who visited the Municipality following the incident, described it as unfortunate and avoidable.

She condemned the conduct of the said military officer saying that although she respected the professionalism of the military, there was the need in exercising discretion sometimes in going about their official assignments to avoid these incidents going forward.

Mad. Gomashie called for cool heard and urged the youth not to take the law into their own hands in the interest of peace and security.

Source: GNA