The Member of Parliament for Bortianor-Ngleshie-Amanfro Constituency has appealed for a Parliamentary inquiry into a shooting incident at Bortianor Hills.
The incident led to the death of five natives of the area.
According to him, the chiefs and people of the area have rejected explanations from the police and are demanding an independent investigation.
The Ghana Police Service issued a statement admitting it carried out an operation in the area and engaged in a shoot-out with land guards.
According to the police, the operation targeted criminal elements who have been terrorizing residents and landowners and were also involved in armed robbery and land guard activities in the Bortianor and surrounding areas.
The MP, Sylvester Matthew Tetteh who made the call in a statement he read on the floor of the House on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, said families, friends, and neighbours have refuted police claims the dead were land guards.
He acknowledged rampant land guard activities in and around the area and constant harassment of residents and developers alike.
He said, “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 a 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 for a parliamentary 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,” he said.
Hon. Sylvester Tetteh urged the people of Bortianor, Kokrobite, and surrounding areas to be calm and continue to be law-abiding and competent state agencies to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of the incident.
Contributing to the statement Ranking Member of the Interior and Defense Committee, James Agalga, expressed displeasure at the incident and argued it is not for the police to kill but apprehend the suspects even if they were land guards.
According to him, Ghana’s laws presume suspects to be innocent until proven guilty.
Parliament, he said, last year passed the vigilante law to deal with such activities and therefore the police cannot take the law into their own hands and annihilate suspects.
Mr. Agalga supported the call for a probe, arguing the police statement should not be enough explanation.
