I was trained for 3 weeks – ‘Double’

A national security operative, Bright Ernest Akomea, also known as ‘Double’, on Tuesday, 5 March 2019 told the Justice Emile Short Commission of Inquiry that he was trained for three weeks as a recruit when he joined the national security apparatus.

Double said he was dealing in mobile phones at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra before he joined the National Security set-up two years ago.

Double became a person of interest to the Commission in the ongoing probe into the violence that marred that Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election on 31 January 2019 when the member of parliament for Ningo Prampram, Mr Sam Nartey George testified before the Commission that he (Double) was among the masked national security operatives who shot into a crowd that had gathered at the residence of the NDC’s parliamentary candidate, Mr Delali Kwasi Brempong, which injured 16 victims.

“Shots were immediately fired into the air. I immediately took cover against a wall and stood against it. Because the next 60 seconds appeared to be stuff from an action movie. I saw a number of the armed men pull out their side weapons and fire into the direction of the crowd. I saw Double [a National Security operative] pull out his AK-47 and fire. The gun jammed; I saw him clear his chamber, reload the gun and fired several rounds from his AK-47,” Mr Sam George told the Commission when he appeared earlier.

Double, however, denied ever shooting during his testimony.

Elements within the NDC had claimed that the members of that SWAT unit who were involved in the shooting incident on the day of the by-election were members of pro-government militia group Invincible Forces, but Double denied being a member of any militia group and said he was legitimately enlisted into the national security set-up and had undergone three weeks of training.



“I saw an announcement that the National Security was recruiting and I applied. I met a panel and my fingerprints were taken. I was trained for three weeks in map reading, light weapon handling and crowd control,” he said.



The Commission is to make recommendations to forestall violence in future elections.