General News of Thursday, 6 January 2022
Source: www.ghanaweb.live
2022-01-06Mall shooting soldier is a military attaché at Flagstaff House – Mahama’s aide alleges
Screengrab from the shooting incident
Soldier captured sporadically discharging firearm in public
Video of his action on New Year's eve goes viral on social media
He is arrested and being probed by the military
The soldier currently in military detention for firing several rounds of AK47 into the air on New Year's Eve of 2021 was a military attaché at the presidency.
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This is an allegation made by lawyer Edudzi Kudzo Tamekloe, an aide to former President John Dramani Mahama.
He made the disclosure on the Tuesday, January 4, 2021, edition of Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana programme.
Explaining the reason for pointing out the issue, he said: “The reason why I am making this point is that a person who is ordinarily just a military officer will be taking direct command from a barrack.
“When a person is assigned, there are instances where a military officer is assigned to an embassy, he may be taking commands direct from other than his immediate superior within the various barracks.
“That this is a young man who works at the office of the president, a military attaché, now to say that that is not relevant, I will leave it to our viewers.” On the probe by the military, he defended: “you cannot take away the fact that he is still a military officer and they have a code.”
Edudzi’s co-panellist, Richard Ahiagbah, a Deputy Director of Research at the Presidency argued that even if the accused officer’s designation was a relevant issue, it “must not be taken on face value, I will look in more.”
He stated that, “the fundamental reason he must be disciplined is that he has training and more is expected of him,” likening the episode to a boxer fighing outside of the ring and the punitive sanctions that must be applied.
“He is a soldier who knows not to do what he has done, so he has nothing to do with where he is seconded to, that for me is the issue,” Ahiagbah stated.
TWI NEWS
Police notice, arrest and military investigation
Police issued a January 1, 2022, 'Wanted Notice' with 5,000 cedi bounty for the man who was seen shooting sporadically into the air at the A&C Shopping Mall located at East Legon in Accra.
In a follow-up statement dated January 3, 2022, the officer was formally identified as Flight Sergeant Nicholas Owusu Frimpong.
The Police said he was arrested through a collaborative effort and that he was being held in Military Police detention and assisting with investigations into the matter.
"...We have a lot of disciplinary things that we can take up but I don't want us to jump the gun," Acting Public Affairs Director of the Ghana Armed Forces, Commander Andy La-Anyane told Joy FM in an interview that aired on January 4, 2021.
"Let's just finish with the investigations first. It (sanctions) ranges from reduction in rank to even dismissal, that is the highest..." he added.
The army also gave concrete assurances that the accused will not be shielded if found guilty.
Under Ghana's laws, it is an offence to discharge a firearm in public without lawful and necessary occasion under Section 209 of the Criminal Offences Act 1960 (Act 29).
