FACT-CHECK: No soldier was killed in Ashaiman as widely shared on social media

Claim: Ghanaian military officer killed in Ashaiman

Source: Viral social media post

Verdict: FALSE

Researched by Gifty Tracy Aminu

Ashaiman, a town in the Greater Accra region has been trending number 1 on X/Twitter (as of February 16, 2024) and according to the dominant narrative online, it is because a Ghanaian military officer has been allegedly killed in the area.

On Facebook and X/Twitter, several social media users have chimed in on the conversation, with one netizen claiming that: “A soldier was robbed and killed while trying to take out money from an ATM early in the morning. Rumours have it that, his wife who is pregnant and, in the hospital, needed money for treatment.”

On the microblogging app, X/Twitter, the claim comes with multiple videos, memes and pictures suggesting the Ghana Armed Forces is planning a reprisal attack against the community.

Ashaiman nu ankasa dem for take am to Nigeria including Kasoa

pic.twitter.com/9nYmP6CUJe

— ???????????????????? (@babaonxx) February 16, 2024

Fact – Check

In an interview with GhanaFact, the Director General of Public Affairs of the Ghana Armed Forces, Col. Aggrey Quarshie clarified that: “They killed somebody who was wearing a military pattern T-shirt, but he is not a soldier. No soldier has been killed in Ashaiman.”

Also, a credible digital news platform, Graphic Online has reported the stabbing to death of an unidentified man at dawn on Thursday, February 15, 2024, by suspected armed robbers in Ashaiman.

“The incident occurred at about 4:30 am on Thursday near Goodness filling station at the Ashaiman main bus [trotro] stop,” the story partly reads.

Verdict

The claim is false.