Ejura Shooting: What is needed is action not another ministerial inquiry

Every passing day, the security situation in the country, tends to assume a frightening dimension. Just when citizens were beginning to grasp the circumstances that led to the death of Kaaka Mohammed, after a mob attack, military men who were sent to control the demonstrating crowd, also went and shot two men to death.

Before the incident of Tuesday, June 28, the president had set up The Emile Short Commission to enquire into the events and associated violence that occurred during the Ayawaso-West-Wuogon by-election on January 31, 2019, which made far-reaching and implementable recommendations to the executive arm of government, but the government did not even implement even one of the recommendations.

It is against this backdrop that this newspaper considers as misplaced the directive by the president to the Minister of Interior, Ambrose Dery to establish a Commission of Inquiry into the matter.

Interestingly, Ambrose Dery was the minister of interior when the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election incidence happened. We are of the view that what is urgently needed is not another commission of inquiry, but the political will to sack the sector heads, i.e Ministers of Defence and Interior.

The situation at hand demands desperate attention that another Commission of Inquiry, may not readily be able to address.

With every sense of responsibility, we are convinced that another Inquiry, by whatever name called, or whoever is appointed to be a member of the Committee, will be a waste of resources, an exercise in futility.

The maintenance of law and order is the primary responsibility of the police, the military are only called in extreme cases, because by their training, anytime they shoot, they must shoot to kill.

The situation as it pertains to what happened in Ejura, did not warrant the deployment of the military, the police were capable of handling the situation.

We insist that what is required at this point in time is the political will not another Commission of Inquiry, because after all the government is yet to do justice to past reports on military and police brutalities.