There is a concerning trend of lawlessness in Ghana, where civilians and some officers in uniform engage in unlawful activities. It is particularly troubling to witness those responsible for enforcing the law, breaking it themselves. This issue has become increasingly prevalent in Ghana over the past few years. Some officers in uniform are now engaging in the same kind of lawless activities as civilians, to the point where it could be argued that they are competing in wrongdoing. It is understandable for some civilians to engage in unlawful behaviour, as every society has its share of miscreants and citizens who refuse to follow the rules. However, it is shocking to see law enforcement officers, who are tasked with enforcing the law and protecting the country from internal and external threats, breaking the law and engaging in all kinds of unlawful activities with impunity. In some cases, they are even conniving with civilians.
Highlights of Lawlessness Among Some Security Personnel in Ghana
The history of criminal activities in Ghana suggests that security personnel have been involved in such incidents as accomplices. This raises concerns about the professionalism, competence, and integrity of the country’s security forces. Unfortunately, For instance:
Security personnel have been arrested in the recent past for either directly or indirectly engaging in armed robbery. Some security personnel have been arrested in robbery incidents and are suspected to be members of armed robbery gangs; some are alleged to be lending their riffles to armed robbers for operations. It is more intriguing to see, hear or witness a robbery incident where a security officer is a perpetrator. However, such cases are very common in the country though the law always takes its course against such officers. It is rather worrying because nobody knows the extent of damage and harm they might have caused before their arrest. A national security officer was arrested with three civilians in November 2021 as suspects in a robbery case. It is alleged the security officer led an armed robbery gang to rob a house at Ajasco Red Top at Kokrobite in Accra. The police upon arresting them reported to have retrieved 20 assorted phones, 1 taxi cab, 3 laptops, one motorbike, 1 locally manufactured pistol, a police vest, 1 Gota, and 14 assorted wristwatches.
In November 2022, a soldier and 6 national security operatives were arrested by the Oyibi Police command at Amrahia in the Kpone Katamanso District for posing as land guards and robbing residents at gunpoint. The police retrieved pump action guns and other ammunition from them. Another national security operative, a police officer, and two civilians were arrested in November 2022 for robbing a director of a gold company of 5kg gold. The police retrieved an unregistered Bruni pistol with one round of 9mm ammunition and a Gota handset from the national security operative. Upon further search of the residence of the arrested national security officer, two rounds of 9mm ammunition, two bulletproof vests, one ballistic helmet, two stunt guns, and one pepper spray were retrieved.
In June 2022, three military personnel and one civilian were arrested in connection with a robbery incident at Nsakina near Amasaman. In June 2021, two policemen were arrested and shot dead during an exchange of gunshots for their involvement in the bullion van robbery that led to the death of a young constable at Jamestown. The police upon further investigation arrested five more suspects on 8th March, 2022 of which four were policemen and one civilian who were believed to be behind the numerous bullion van robberies in Accra. Three police officers at the Weija District Command were arrested in 2018 for hiring guns to robbers. This development came to light upon the robbers involved in a serious car accident on their way to conduct their robbery. On July 26, 2023, three military officers with three civilians were nabbed for attempting to rob a bullion van conveying gold from Hwidiem, Ahafo region, to Kumasi belonging to Golden Team Mining Resource Limited.
It is widely reported that security personnel conspire with civilians to undertake illegal mining activities popularly called “Galamsey”. There are instances where these security personnel are alleged to be providing security to companies and individuals engaging in illegal mining. The security forces especially the military have been cited in so many times for providing security for illegal miners to threaten national security. There has been an allegation suggesting the direct involvement of the military and police top hierarchy in illegal mining by way of owning mining sites. National security officers in many instances have been arrested and accused of their involvement in illegal mining activities. For example, in May 2021, 65 suspected illegal miners in the Atewa Forest; some alleged to be national security officers were arrested in the space of ten days according to the report of the Eastern Regional Police Command. Another 19 persons believed to be national security officers were arrested in the forest engaging in illegal mining. It has always been reported that these national security operatives, storm illegal mining sites with the claim of chasing away or arresting civilians engaging in illegal mining but end up taking over the site to illegally mine the gold themselves. Many argue that the security forces’ involvement in this menace is a result of how political authorities have rendered them ineffective in the fight against illegal mining thereby fuelling their taste to join the menace. This though not justifiable but worthy to note.
Also, the instances of security personnel shooting indiscriminately and killing innocent and unprovoked civilians and, in some cases, deliberately killing civilians as well as beating protestors amount to the lawlessness of security personnel in the country. Recently, a police inspector was arrested and accused of killing a girlfriend in Kumasi, and an assistant superintendent of police was equally arrested in May 2023 and detained in the Western North Region for killing a colleague police constable. The incidence of security officers killing their partners, especially girlfriends is gradually becoming a norm in Ghana. Also, an operation of joint police and the military team shot and killed two protestors in Ejura on June 29, 2021, and left the majority of the protestors injured. This follows the shooting and killing of about 8 civilians by the security forces during the 2020 presidential and parliamentary elections. The Ghana Armed Forces have been accused of killing 10 civilians in the recent Bawku conflict when their actual objective for going there is for peace keeping. For instance, a report by the Fourth Estate on extrajudicial killings from 2017 to 2021 counted at least 72 extrajudicial killings by either the police or the military. 23 of these victims were killed when the police and/or the military-controlled protestors, or by stray bullets from the security. More than 120 persons are believed to have recorded severe injuries from such brutalities within the same period (Krobea Asante & Bokpe, 2021).
The attitude of security personnel retaliating upon news of the death or assault of a colleague in the hands of civilians is becoming another lawless activity in which the security forces are gradually getting ingrained. There is a practice of instant justice by civilians which has largely been spoken against by law enforcement agencies hence a relative improvement is said to have been experienced in the recent past but conversely, the very law enforcement personnel are now perpetrating the very act they have been criticizing and admonishing civilians to refrain from. For instance, in July 2021, some military officers stormed and brutalized residents and passers-by of Wa, in and around a suburb called Tendama over an alleged missing mobile phone that belonged to a military officer, the said mobile phone was said to have been stolen around that area. In 2005 a group of aggrieved soldiers stormed, brutalized, and inflicted knife wounds on residents of North Suntreso in Kumasi while vandalizing properties and smashing the windscreens of several vehicles. Cases of security personnel brutalizing civilians are no more surprising to the Ghanaian people because they happen from time to time, the most recent one being the military brutality in Ashaiman and the illegal detaining of over 184 people over an alleged killing of a military officer in the area.
Lawlessness among security personnel and civilians is gaining momentum in Ghana. Recently, more specifically on the 29th of May 2023 a video circulating on social media shows a group of police officers trading blows with civilians near a police station. The incident is believed to have happened at the Hohoe Divisional Police Headquarters in the Volta Region. The cause of the incident is not known but the mere occurrence of the act shows how lawless some men in uniform and civilians could be. Recently in Asawase, the youth in the community stormed and vandalized the Asawase police station for allegedly killing one of their own. It used to be uncalled-for to witness or attempt physical altercation with security personnel but the situation is gradually changing to the extent where the law enforcers flout the law and physically fight civilians whereas civilians for the growing lack of respect for men in uniform muster unnecessary courage to attack them.
Causes of the incidents of lawlessness and civilian attacks
One key point that could be argued as influencing security personnel’s indulgence in criminal activities is arguably the porous nature of recruiting personnel into the service. The process of recruitment does not include any stringent background checks on personnel before they are recruited. Allegedly, influence from politicians in the recruitment process, and an age long rumours and accusations of monetization of the recruitment process allow unscrupulous individuals with the financial capacity to sneak through the service and use their identity as security personnel to perpetrate various criminal activities under the guise of a service person. This process is believed to have contributed to the majority of criminals finding their way into the security services.
The politicization of the security services in Ghana has led to serious lawlessness among security personnel. It is argued that every political party that assumes office makes a conscious effort to recruit their loyalists into the service and appoint their loyalists to head the administration of the various security services. This has polarized the security service and made officers with the backing of their party in power not frightened to act irresponsibly.
The slow pace of the judicial process and in some cases lack of interest in prosecuting cases of assault on security personnel when the attention of the media shifts, to some extent has arguably contributed to the use of undue process by the security personnel to address crime committed by civilians directly against them or their men. The wheels of justice they say turn slowly but grind exceedingly fine. The long period the justice system takes before a verdict is passed serves as a disincentive to many people ( civilians and security personnel) to resort to the legal process hence the resort to other means either than the due process to address their grievances. For instance, the case involving the killing of a soldier by civilians at Denkyira Obuasi in 2017 has not seen judgment in about 6 years now. The wheels of justice are turning slowly. Some of these incidents motivate the men in uniform and even ordinary citizens to seek justice using undue means. This is not to suggest the lawlessness of the security personnel is justifiable.
Security personnel brutalities against civilians as much as it is condemnable could be traced to civilian lawlessness, in the majority of the cases. This is not to justify the lawlessness of the security personnel either because as law enforcement institutions, they cannot justify using unlawful means to address civilian lawlessness. There is an increasing phenomenon alien to the Ghanaian community and intriguing to hear, the direct attacks on security personnel by civilians, which has occasioned retaliation from the security personnel. Ghanaians in the past used to revere security personnel most especially the military but in recent times, it is worrying to hear civilians attacking, beating, and killing security personnel even those in uniform. For instance, recently in a viral video, some civilians were seen beating up a police officer in Kumawu. In 2017, a young military officer was lynched by civilians in Denkyira Obuasi. Also, some soldiers were assaulted by civilians at Dome Faase over an alleged land dispute. Some two police officers were seen in a viral video begging and kneeling to illegal miners in the Western Region on March 09, 2023. In March 2023, a young military soldier was attacked and killed by civilians in Ashaiman. These and many other cases of civilian assault on security personnel have led to unlawful responses from the security personnel.
The Way Out
The involvement of state security personnel in illegal and criminal activities has become an upfront to law enforcement in the country and has given civilians the impetus to perpetrate criminal activities. This development of lawlessness among security personnel has raised a lot of questions from stakeholders on the mode of recruiting security personnel in the country as well as the effectiveness of the internal rules and regulations and code of conduct of the security forces. Also, the incessant attacks on security personnel by civilians, spell doom for the country. This is because when civilians tend to attack the very people who are mandated to protect them, the officers as human as they are may do whatever it takes to protect themselves first. Officers are trained to save their lives first before they can save another person, or protect property and maintain order. Therefore, considering the extent of danger such actions could bring makes it highly incumbent on authorities and stakeholders to promote obedience to the law and observance of due process of law.
To deal with the increasing lawlessness among the security personnel effectively;
The various security services should institute stringent measures to guide their recruitment processes. The process should be thorough to the extent of conducting background checks on potential recruits to ensure recalcitrant are not assembled as security officers. The first and most crucial avenue for criminals to find their way into the service is through the porous recruitment process. Therefore, when proper checks are made in the recruitment process it would go a long way to curb certain lawless activities of servicemen.
The security services should be made autonomous in practice and practically ward off political interference in their recruitment process and general administration (that is de-politicization of the security services). This can be achieved by making appointments to the top hierarchy of the security services apolitical. That is the President of the republic should not be made to appoint heads of security services to help prevent the situation whereby the appointor would be expecting allegiance from the appointee. This would help ward off political interference and consolidate the autonomy of the security services. The alternative should be the constitution of internal structures and mechanisms to spearhead the appointments of superiors of the security services. For instance, elections could be employed to select the leadership of the security services, or probably adhere to their hierarchical superiorities as regimental institutions, where the seniormost takes charge.
The security officers should be conversant with the code of ethics/code of conduct of the service and live by it. The officers should be intensively taught their code of conduct to the point where it becomes part and parcel of them and also conduct themselves professionally, as the conducts of some security personnel always bring the name of the profession into disrepute, thereby weaponizing irresponsible citizens to launch attacks on the security service. The service as a matter of urgency should penalize and not shield officers who perpetrate lawless activities to serve as a deterrent to colleagues. It must however be noted that some officers are facing trial for criminal activities but in most cases, the service takes on a defensive approach to some lawless acts of the servicemen, which is common among the Military forces. The punitive measures should be deterrent enough and counseling provided to officers involved in lawless activities. This is because the officer after every punishment would still live in society, so when the person is not properly counselled to let go of such conduct, he or she would be a menace to society.
The National Centre for Civic Education in partnership with the media should as a matter of urgency embark on a serious nationwide campaign to educate civilians on the need to uphold the laws and refrain from lawless activities, especially to the point of launching physical attacks on security personnel. In the event these servicemen who are stringently and strenuously trained and weaponized replicate similar attacks as revenge as seen in few occasions which in itself is lawless would be catastrophic. The increasing incidents of civilian attacks on security personnel suggest that the National Centre for Civic Education have a lot of civic education to embark on as such incidents are a serious threat to national security and the peace the country is enjoying. There should be a conscious effort to teach civic ideals and practices to the citizenry through both the formal educational setting and mass educational campaigns, where the media can be encouraged to partake.
Conclusion
The professionalism of the security services does not only merit the service alone but rather helps consolidate democracy. The way and manner the security service portrays themselves would either attract reverence or otherwise from civilians. The increasing politicization of every state institution puts the country in a dire situation where the last hope is the security services hence conscious effort ought to be made to safeguard the institution. The situation where the security services appear to be an appendix of the ruling government must be addressed because the security service allegiance must be to the state and not the government. This incident coupled with the widely held belief of monetization of the recruitment into the security services has occasioned an increase in lawlessness among security personnel and civilians. The situation demands a conscientious effort to stem the tide from a seemingly looming danger. The development where civilians muster the courage to attack and kill security personnel and the extrajudicial killings by security personnel threaten national security and put the country on a time bomb. It is important to state that the teaching of Social Studies be given priority since behavioural change is central to how civilians would relate to security personnel and vice versa.
Reference
Krobea Asante, K & Bokpe, S.J. (2021). Killed By The Bullet: Fatal Police, Military Brutality Victims Since 2017. Retrieved on 12 May 2023 from https://thefourthestategh.com/2021/07/13/killed-by-the-bullet-fatal-police-military-brutality-victims-since-2017/#:~:text=Home,2021%20%7C%20THE%20FOURTH%20ESTATE
