COVID-19: No civilian has been brutalised, soldiers are professionals - Commander

The General Officer Commanding (GOC), Southern Command of the Ghana Armed Forces, Brigadier General Abraham Yeboah Nsiah, has denied reports that officers from his outfit are brutalising civilians found flouting the directive to lockdown Accra, Kasoa, Kumasi and Tema.

According to him, although some civilians have been found to be flouting the directive after it came into force on Monday, March 30, they have not been slapped or brutalised.

He told the media in Accra on Wednesday, April 1, that the only soldier who has been involved in something “that is not of our standard” has been withdrawn to the barracks.

“I must also emphasis that some videos have gone viral concerning some brutalities being meted out by soldiers to some civilians. Let me assure my fellow Ghanaians that the soldiers that you have are well trained. They are professionals, they don’t brutalise,” he said.

“We have deployed 1,000 soldiers on the field. Out of this number, we have only one incident and that incident had nothing to do with slapping. It is something that we thought it was not of our standard and we are dealing with it. That soldier involved presently has been withdrawn to the barracks so all the videos you are seeing are false. I do not know the intention behind it but whatever it is be assured that the soldiers are professionals. They do not brutalise. We do not allow it and we are never going to allow it. I go round myself and educate them,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Defence, Dominic Nitiwul has urged civilians not to provoke soldiers assisting to enforce the lockdown.

He said civilians must not take advantage of the humanitarian assistance the soldiers are giving to the police in the operation to incite them or take videos of them.