New information picked up by Whatsup News indicates that a suspicious militant group are currently undergoing tactical military training at Asutuare Military training camp of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).
Pictures sourced to Whatsup News from insiders show several group of men dressed in blue overalls being trained by a number of military officers. The trainees could be seen undertaking drills involving the use of AK 47 assault rifles and target training.
Some of the faces seen in the pictures have been linked to the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) notorious militia groups including the Delta Forces and Invisible Force. Unconfirmed reports have it that many of these men being trained were recruited from cells in Maamobi, Nima and Sabon Zongo areas in Accra.
Army sources have told Whatsup News that the men in the pictures could not be real military recruits, given their composure and appearance. Some of them looked overweight, while several are spotted with beards and moustaches-a fundamental breach of army officers’ appearance. Some of the men in the pictures are also said to be too old for new recruits.
Our source also noted that these men could not have been members of any other security agency because they were wearing uniforms that are alien to training uniforms of any of the security agencies.
Whatsup News gathered that for the Military to embark on any such recruitment and training, there would have been advertisements in the public domain, after which documents of successful candidates will be scrutinised. Afterwards, they would conduct “Body Selection” to pick those whose physique fitted the rigorous activities of the military. Subsequently, those shortlisted would be taken through intensive training. However, these men currently at Asutuare did not go through all those processes, Whatsup News gathered from reliable military sources whose identities cannot be revealed because of the sensitive nature of their position.
These anomalies are giving credence to suspicion within the military ranks that these men are a clandestine squad which reinforces speculations that they are indeed members of the ruling party’s elite militia group.
The training camp appears to have been started since mid-2018 when Whatup News reported a top-secret Military training at the Castle Osu, Asutuare and other discreet locations across the country for persons believed to be part of the militia group affiliated to the NPP.
This is coming in the heels of recent commitment expressed by the two main political parties: the NPP and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to disband all their militia/Vigilante groups.
Indeed, the Ghanaian Parliament in July passed the Vigilantism and Related Offences Bill, 2019 into law and it is currently awaiting Presidential assent.
The law will give legal backing for the disbanding of political party vigilante groups and forbid acts of vigilantism in the country, following the continuous violence that has characterised the country’s, such as by-elections in Ayawaso West Wuogon, Atiwa, Akwatia, Chereponi, Talensi, Amenfi West and more.
The two main parties have accused each other of paying lip-service to the disbanding of their vigilante groups. For instance, while the discussion for disbanding their vigilantes were ongoing, Joy FM’s undercover investigation revealed how the ruling party was sponsoring and housing a militia group called De-Eye Group at the former Presidential Palace in Osu.
Recently, the violence unleashed by a group of party vigilantes attached to the National Security agency prompted President Akufo Addo to institute a commission of enquiry headed retired judge and renowned human rights advocate, Justice Emile Short.
The report of the Short Commission made a number of recommendations, including strict punishment to those responsible for the violence in Ayawaso. However, the Akufo Addo administration issued a White Paper that rubbished about 53% of these recommendations.