Member of Parliament for Ketu North, Eric Edem Agbana, has called for a nuanced national conversation around electoral violence, cautioning against attempts to equate the recent violence at the Ablekuma North parliamentary rerun to the infamous Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election disturbances.
In a firm statement during a media interview on TV3s New Day show, the lawmaker condemned the attacks that marred the Ablekuma North polls, which saw former Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Mavis Hawa Koomson, Deputy NPP National Organizer, Chris Lord, and some journalists subjected to violence allegedly carried out by political thugs and rogue police officers.
While condemning the attacks in no uncertain terms, Agbana drew a clear distinction between the two incidents, describing the Ayawaso West Wuogon case as a state-sponsored act of vigilantism, unlike the thuggery witnessed at Ablekuma North.
“I started by condemning the violence and I’m not justifying it, but if we are truly seeking solutions, it’s important to look at the nuances of these cases. But Ayawaso West Wuogon is what we describe as state-sponsored vigilantism, and that must not be lost on us.
“But Ayawaso West Wuogon is what we describe as state-sponsored vigilantism, and that must not be lost on us. And so I have a problem with those who want to equate Ayawaso West Wuogon by lessening the violence to what happened at Ablekuma North. The difference is that one was sponsored by the state, one was on the command of the state, and the men who perpetrated that violence and near killing, near murder, of innocent Ghanaians were clad in national security uniforms.” he stated
He further backed his position with evidence from the Emile Short Commission of Inquiry, which was constituted to probe the Ayawaso incident. According to Agbana, the commission’s findings clearly confirmed that the men involved wielded firearms, brutalized voters, and operated under direct orders, all while wearing official state security attire.
“But let us discuss this by looking at the differences between them. Ayawaso West Wuogon was a case of state-sponsored vigilantism. And when you listen to the proceedings of the commission of inquiry that the government itself set up, clearly it came out that the men who were armed, who perpetrated the violence, and who brutalized people, including myself, were all clad in national security apparel”he said.
Agbana argued that the persistent cycle of election-related violence stems from government inaction and lack of justice following previous incidents. He lamented that if victims of past brutalities had received justice, such as those affected in Ayawaso West Wuogon, the eight Ghanaians killed during the 2020 general elections, or even during the Assin North by-election, the recent disturbances at Ablekuma North might have been avoided.
“If Ayawaso West Wuogon victims had seen justice being served, if the families of the eight Ghanaians who lost their lives in the 2020 elections had seen justice, if the victims of the Assin North elections, where I was seated with my former Minister for Youth, now George Opariadu, and his car was shot at by operatives of national security, if all the victims of all these actions had seen some justice, I believe we would not have gotten to the point where, at Table Okuma North, people would have gone to misbehave,” he said.
Despite the gravity of his criticism, Agbana reiterated his unequivocal condemnation of the violence at Ablekuma North, stressing that all those involved must be brought to book. However, he urged the public and policymakers to interrogate the root causes of such violence and treat each incident within its proper context.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Police Service has publicly announced that it has launched an investigation into the violence to bring the perpetrators to book.