Bagbin's official request for military protection was wrong – Security Analyst

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Security Analyst, Col. Festus Aboagye has criticized the use of military officers for protecting a certain category of people in the country.

His comment comes on the back of conversations surrounding the withdrawal of some four military

Read full article.officers attached to the office of the Speaker, Alban Bagbin.

Speaking on current affairs program Newsfile on Saturday January 22 on Joy News, Colonel Festus Aboagye stated that the deployment of military officers for such duties was not in tandem with constitutional provisions.

He noted that the military was responsible for protecting the state against external aggression.

“The reason why the speakers [of the Fourth Republic] may not have been accorded military protection was that constitutionally, it is not the role of the military to become watchmen and watchwomen.

"Their function is to defend the state against external aggression and also to take care of internal security. In the domain of internal security, if there are exigencies that expose some public office holders to danger or risk then by executive order the President or Commander in Chief can direct the Armed Forces to provide protection for certain individuals,” he told host Samson Lardi Anyeneni

Col. Festus Aboagye also criticized Parliament for writing to the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) requesting for military protection for the speaker.

A letter sighted by GhanaWeb dated January 18 from the Clerk of Parliament to GAF requested four military officers to be part of the security detail of the Speaker to protect him “especially in this day and age of terrorism and violent armed robbery.”

But the retired officer believes the request made was wrong.

“We realise from the document that are circulating on social media that it was the office of Parliament or the marshal or whoever in parliament. Parliamentary Service or some other entities that wrote to the Ghana Armed forces directly asking that the speaker must be provided with military protection and indeed went ahead to name the personnel that should be provided.

"That is wrong…it is absolutely wrong. It put the military in a very awkward position as we are experiencing now,” Col Festus Aboagye said.