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Sports News of Saturday, 2 June 2001

Source: GNA

"I added stolen rubber bullets to mine"- Constable Agbenyega

Constable Joseph Agbenyega, one of the armed policemen stunned the Commission the Accra Sports Stadium Disaster when he said, he added three extra rubber bullets given to him a friend to the armoury to avoid being detected.

He said he carried a stopper and five rubber bullets to the stadium out of which he fired three shots into the fans on the orders from Chief Superintendent Nana Koranteng Minta that they should fire to disperse the rowdy fans.

Constable Agbenyegah said he returned home oblivious of what has happened, until a senior colleague called Sugri told him that people had died at the stadium and that those he went on duty with were being questioned.

He told the Commission that fear gripped him when he heard that and acted on what Sugri told and collected three rubber bullets given to him and added it to the remaining two and sent them to the man in-charge of the armoury who took them and recorded.

Constable Agbenyegah who has been at post for only one year, said the Station Officer after their parade said some of them should go for weapons and he decided to choose a stopper and five rubber bullets.

He said when the fans started running after the first shot, he fired again into where they have converged.

Sergeant Kenneth Quarshie Adjei, who is in-charge of the armoury at the Striking Force Unit, who recorded the weapons told the commission the types of weapons the men took and said usually their service and weapon numbers are written down and is repeated when they come back.

He said he did not give any of the nine men teargas but rather issued out nine weapons, which were mostly stoppers and rubber bullets and pump action as well as cartridges and helmets to those who requested for them.

Sgt. Adjei explained that a stopper normally goes with five rubber bullets while a pump action goes with 10 cartridges.