Bawku: Soldier strips suspects naked

Upper East Regional Minister Mark Woyongo Unless we beef up security, these sporadic gun fires will be heard for some time. Mark Woyongo, Upper East Regional Minister Two people have been arrested in Bawku Wednesday morning following a shooting incident. Joy News correspondent, Joseph Osei reports a gunman caused panic after shooting into the air near a school around 8am on Wednesday. Military personnel who moved into the area to restore calm, arrested two suspects and stripped them naked before parading them on the streets. The situation is said to have caused uproar amongst residents. According to eyewitnesses, the two persons were marched through the streets from the Bawku Hospital to the central police station which is several metres away. Responding to the issues, Upper East Regional Minister Mark Woyongo confirmed the arrests but said reports that the two persons were stripped naked have not been corroborated by the police. According to him, the Airborne Force Commander in the area had told him “34 rounds of AK47 ammunition” was found on one of the two persons arrested. The alleged gunman is said to have invited his friend, who owned a motorbike, to pick him up but the two were arrested together by the military who had been patrolling the area. The shooting in the town brings into question the adequacy of security and equipment to forestall violence there, a situation Mr Woyongo admits. “Unless we beef up security, these sporadic gun fires will be heard for some time,” he indicated. Meanwhile, Joy Newsrooms have been inundated with calls from persons claiming to be Mamprusis who say they feel discriminated and that the security agencies are being used against them. In a response, Mr Woyongo said: “We are investigating some of these things,” adding “We will do all we can to assure everybody that we are not taking sides, we just want a solution to the problem.” Source: Myjoyonline.com/Ghana