Promoting Lt. Col. Agyeman after withdrawal 'very dangerous' – Nyaho

A former army man, Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, has said with all his experience in the Ghana Armed Forces and knowledge about its workings, never has he seen nor heard that a withdrawn soldier had been promoted, as in the case of Lt. Col. Frank Agyeman, who, allegedly kicked Citi FM journalist Caleb Kudah in the groin after he was arrested within the premises of no-photography enclave while filming some abandoned state-acquired vehicles parked inside the MASLOC yard.

“Let’s take the case of Lt. Col. Agyeman. I’m a soldier and I know exactly how the laws there operate. No soldier, who has been pitched anywhere and for one reason or the other is withdrawn and sent back to a higher position," Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe told Kojo Oppong Asamoah on Class91.3FM’s Class Morning Show on Tuesday, May 25, 2021.

“I have never heard it," he insisted, adding: “Not when I was in the army”.

“And this is happening, this is not good for the nation and nobody says anything. Particularly, in the military, we have other officers there. [Lt. Col.] Agyeman is not the only officer in the Ghana Armed Forces. There are other officers who’ll be carefully watching what happens," he warned.

“So, in a situation like that, what good example are you really setting?” Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe asked, wondering: “Do you really think the people in this country are good for nothing that anything at all can be said or done and no one will say anything? This is dangerous for our society. Very very dangerous”.

Lt. Col. Agyeman was appointed as the Commanding Officer of the 64 Infantry Battalion after the withdrawal of his secondment to the National Security Ministry following allegations that he partook in the assault of Mr Kudah a few days ago.

A document sighted by ClassFMonline.com indicates that Lt. Col. Agyeman’s appointment was made on May 21 2021.

An investigation committee set up by the Ministry of National Security to probe the alleged assault indicated that the “secondment of Lieutenant Colonel Frank Agyeman (Director of Operations) at the Ministry has been reversed”.

“The officer is to report to the Chief of Defence Staff for further investigation and appropriate action”.

“The three police officers involved have been withdrawn and are to report to the Ghana Police Service for investigation and disciplinary action,” a statement from the ministry said.

Mr Kudah was arrested on Tuesday, May 11, 2021, by national security operatives in connection with the videos he allegedly secretly filmed.

He sent the videos to his female colleague who was in the office of the Adabraka-based radio station at the time, prompting a Rambo-style invasion of the media house by seven armed operatives in three Pickups to arrest his alleged co-conspirator Zoe Abu-Baidoo Addo.

The statement, signed by the Minister of National Security, Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, on May 20, 2021, also described the action of the officers as “inappropriate and contravened the ministry’s standard operating procedures”.

“The Ministry of National Security wishes to assure the general public and particularly all media practitioners that the ministry will expeditiously investigate any complaints against any personnel of its agencies.”

“The ministry assures the general public that measures continue to be taken to ensure the highest professional standards to engender public trust,” the statement added.