Ayawaso West Wuogon By-Election Violence - Victims Demand Compensation

Madam Amina Umar, the convenor of a group of wives whose spouses became victims of violence during the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election recently has petitioned the government for justice and appropriate compensation.

She said their husbands were shot at without provocation by masked National Security operatives and demanded their arrest and prosecution.

"Our husbands are also citizens of the land entitled to all privileges spelt out in the 1992 constitution, which includes the administration of justice in all fairness, we demand criminal prosecution of the operatives involved in the violence that acted against the laws of the country as well as rights of our husbands and also demand appropriate compensation," Amina Umar stressed.

The petition which was co-signed by Ayisha Yaro and Amina Abdallah on behalf of the other women was presented to Dr Zakariah Afisah, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection on behalf of the Minister, Mrs Cynthia Morrison to be handed over to the president.

Heavily armed and masked National Security operatives on January 31, 2019 stormed the La Bawaleshie home of Delali Kwasi Brempong, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate for the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election and shot into the crowd of unarmed civilians and during the melee, 18 people sustained injuries with one of them amputated.

Madam Amina Umar lamented that even though President Nana Akufo-Addo responded by setting up the Justice Emile Short Commission of Inquiry to probe the violence, nothing had been heard of the victims after the commission completed its work and presented the report to the president which was unfortunate.

She noted that throughout the hospitalisation of the victims the presidency did not bother to pay a visit to them to know how they were faring even though they are also citizens of the nation and under the care of the government.

Madam Amina Umar appealed for appropriate compensation in order to be able to cater for their families, arrest the perpetrators and prosecute them to serve as a deterrent for others to deepen rule of law and good democratic governance.

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