Kusaug Youth Association expresses displeasure over military attack on innocent civilian
Opinion

Kusaug Youth Association expresses displeasure over military attack on innocent civilian

The Coalition of Kusaug Youth Association expressed their strong disapproval after a civilian was assaulted by military personnel. In a statement released on Monday, September 18, 2023, the Youth Association informed that on September 14, around 11:45 pm, Mr. Apusah Patrick Akuka, also known as Gago, a young Kusasi man, was attacked by a group of Ghana Army soldiers stationed at the Bazua military base while he was at his residence in the Barabog community, a suburb of Bazua in the Binduri District. The assault took place without any provocation or apparent reason. The statement further revealed that the victim was forcefully detained by some soldiers who were not in official uniform, while others had weapons in their possession. “The Coalition of Kusaug Youth Association wish to express our regret and disappointment in the military Personnel of the Bazua Base of the Ghana armed forces for the forceful entry, trespass to home, and aggravated assault occasioning harm,” Although expressing their discontent regarding the military attack on Mr. Apusah, the Youth group urged all citizens of Kusaug to stay calm and refrain from making provocative statements regarding the incident. They noted that His Royal Highness Zugraan Naba Asigiri Abugrago Azoka Il, the overlord of the Kusaug traditional area, alongside the eminent chiefs and elders of the land, are diligently working towards establishing enduring peace in Bawku. Kindly read the full statement below:                                                                                                  PRESS RELEASE 18th September,2023. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    ALL MEDIA HOUSES, MILITARY BRUTALITY AND ASSAULT OF AN INNOCENT CIVILIAN. The Coalition of Kusaug Youth Association wish to express our regret and disappointment in the military Personnel of the Bazua Base of the Ghana armed forces for the forceful entry, trespass to home and aggravated assault occasioning harm. On the 14th September,2023, at about 11:45pm, one Mr Apusah Patrick Akuka aka (Gago), a Kusasi young man was attacked by a group of military personnel from the Ghana Army stationed at the Bazua military base at his residence in Barabog a suburb of Bazua in the Binduri District without any provocation or reason. He was rounded up by military men, some of whom were in mufti while others had guns with them. He gave his account that he was far asleep in the night and was awakened by the  sound of gun shots around his house and he had to take proper cover because he initially suspected that it was an armed robbery attack or an attack from a  warring faction, the Mamprusis, which has recently become a common phenomenon in the community as a result of the conflict between the Kusasis and the Mamprusis because he couldn’t believe that such an unprofessional and indiscriminately acts would come from any proper trained security personnel, let alone the military forces which is considered as the most discipline and one of the most trusted state institution in Ghana,only to be met with a heavy kick at his “poor door” which brought the whole door down accompanied with an immediate invasion of the military men into his room without notice. They visited such fate to all his rooms by breaking all the doors and vandalising other properties in search of a non-existent item he never knew of. This impatient brutality on him and intimidation of family members has left his children in a traumatised state at the moment. The uniformed men started searching all his rooms and premises for whatever he was not told of while others brutally attacked him, and beat him to a pulp resulting to severe bleeding, infliction of deep wounds on his head and other parts of his body which has left his health in a deteriorating state. He was sent to the military base in Bazua for interrogation and as part was assaulted, tortured and detained for some hours without any charge or resistance and later handed him over to BNI officials in Bawku for further interrogation which ended up with absolutely no charge. His motorbike and mobile phone were seized by the officers and still in their custody. This unprofessional, inhumane, sectorial and tribal witch-hunt of the youth and abled men of the Kusuag Traditional Area on the instructions of powerful hidden hands to intimidate, suppress and put fear in the Kusasis tends to provoke and incite community response which may stall the peace effort being made by the military high command in Bwaku to foster peace and security in the Kusuag kingdom because of lack of trust. The youth of the Kusaug kingdom has observed with utter disdain and regret how our people (Kusasis) are being rounded up indiscriminately and beaten, killing others in the process on several occasions by the military personnel who are supposed to protect lives and properties, maintain law and order, rather they cause more harm to civilians and their properties than the waring factions. The question that we want to ask the military high command in Bawku to this effect is that “do we trust  the proposal that the commander initiated just two weeks ago to bring the warring factions together to  dialogue for lasting peace” if yes, then who deployed the men to take such action, what was the reason or crime for a civilian to be subjected to such an inhumane treatment and was this  the best approach from security personnel for the ordinary civilian even if an Intel had been picked for whatever suspicion? Well, the people of Kusaug Traditional Area are waiting and hoping for the responses to these questions and that justice is given to Mr Apusah Patrick Akuka to restore the trust we had in the commander and his men on the ground. This is becoming a worrying trend that fuels and raises anger among members of the

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