The activities of masked forces has become the subject of the Emile Short Commission of inquiry
A former Deputy defense Minister; Ebenezer Terlabi says happenings at Ayawaso West Wuogon that have resulted in the setting up of the Emile Short Commission are an embarrassment to the nation.
Mr. Terlabi, who was speaking on Peace Fm’s morning show; kokrokoo, believes the nation risks not be taken seriously internationally.
He says if the President does not know what went on at AWW, then the conclusion can be drawn that he is not in control of the security of the nation.
“It is the President who presides over the National Security Council and the national security operatives are not supposed to be armed. They just pick intelligence. If the president doesn’t know about what happened, then he is not in control” Mr. Terlabi said.
Mr. Ebenezer Terlabi who is also a former Eastern Regional Minister suspects the relevant security authorities do not know what really happened because someone decided to take the law into his hands and go behind them to organize the masked men who showed up at the AWW by-election.
“I believe someone took the law into his own hands because the IGP’s first reaction was that they did not know anything about what went on. I am inclined to believe them. Someone did something behind their back.”
He clarified that National Security Operatives are not supposed to be armed but are to only bring intelligence for further analysis and interpretation to guide the security forces in their targeted activities.
“You don’t arm operatives to go take action. They just bring information. Ongoing discussions may be missing the point and we have to be very careful” he said.
He recounted his surprise when he listened to the national coordinator admit that the operatives had been given uniforms and trained to shoot.
“We are in trouble if this is what is going on. Everyone can pop up and claim to be a national security operative and commit any crime.“
He also stated strongly that “what happened at AWW is not an NDC/NPP clash but a case of government organizing non-professionals for a security task”.
He downplayed the explanation that the national security had picked intelligence that there were a stockpile of arms waiting to be used to wreak havoc during the by-election and suggested that perhaps “the real intel could have been that the NPP was going to lose the AWW seat”.
He advised the government to come out and apologize in admission that they got it all wrong and they embarrassed the nation.
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