Parliament has tasked its Defence and Interior Committee to investigate the killing of five individuals suspected to be land guards by the police.
This follows a request made by the Member of Parliament for Ngleshie-Bortianor-Amanfrom, Sylvester Matthew Tetteh, and other lawmakers during Tuesday’s proceedings.
The Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Andrew Amoako Asiamah in making the directive for a comprehensive inquiry into the shootings also called for the collaboration of the leadership of the Constitutional, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs with the Defence and Interior Committee.
In an urgent statement on the floor of the House, the MP for the area, noted with shock the gunning down of the five young men in Bortianor Hills.
He said the shooting incident has brought uneasy calm in the area as residents and family members claim the five were not land guards.
“Mr Speaker, we acknowledge rampant land guard activities in and around the area and constant harassment of residents and builders alike, however, reports from the family, friends and those with knowledge of these individuals have refuted the police allegations that these men were involved in land guard activities. The chiefs and residents are aware of the daily collection of tolls as part of arrangements pertaining to sand-winning activities, however, this daily collection of tolls does not sit well with other claimants of the same parcel of land that has led to long protracted land dispute which people believe is a remote cause of this unfortunate incident.”
“Mr Speaker, on behalf of my constituents, we are calling on parliament to institute an inquiry into the matter because the chiefs and people of Bortianor and Kokrobite have rejected the claim by the police. We believe strongly that an inquiry could bring out the truth of the matter and bring calm to the people of my constituency. I will also urge the people of Bortianor, Kokrobite and the surrounding areas to be calm and continue to be law-abiding as we allow the competent agencies to take up the matter and ascertain the veracity or otherwise of the incident,” he said.
The Speaker subsequently set a deadline for the committee to present its report by the end of the month.
