Military have released 150 out of 184 arrested in Ashaiman swoop – MP confirms

Ernest Henry Norgbey, the Member of Parliament for Ashaiman has disclosed that 150 people arrested by the military during their March 7 swoop have been released as at March 8, 2023.

The MP said he went into a meeting with the group and their families immediately after their release, adding that 34 others remain in military detention for continued screening.

“Out of the 184 suspects, 150 have been released as we speak now, we have about 34 still with the military, which they say they are still screening them. So, by close of tomorrow (March 9), we will know whatever outcome will come out from the screening.

“I just met that 150 including their family … calming situations down and then assuring them that we are taking charge of the situation and also, none of them should take the law into their hands,” Norgbey told Accra-based TV3.

The military said in a statement that their operation was in connection with the killing of a young soldier in the Ashaiman enclave on March, stressing that the swoop so-called was aimed at finding the killers and not avenging the death of the officer.

The March 7 military swoop

Dozens of military officers stormed Ashaiman in the operation that saw some soldiers entering the town in trucks, with an armoured car plus a helicopter hovering over the town.

The exercise is said to be in response to the gruesome murder of a young soldier, Trooper Sherrif Imoro, by some unidentified persons on Saturday, March 4, 2023.

Videos of the invasion shared across social media show various forms of assault being meted on residents by the rampaging officers who subjected some of the residents to severe beatings.

In a statement released in the early hours of March 8, the Ghana Armed Forces admitted authorizing the swoop which led to the arrest of 184 persons, as well as the seizure of suspected illegal drugs.

In the said statement, they also acknowledged excesses may have resulted in the swoop but failed to apologize for or commit to conduct a probe on same.



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SARA