Chiefs and families of the Bortianor shooting: Our kids were neither armed robbers or land guards

Families of those who died in an anti-robbery and land guard operation at Bortianor in Accra on June 8, 2023, have demanded an impartial investigation into the incident. The deceased were alleged land guards and armed robbers.

The families that were impacted said that the police stormed the neighbourhood and killed innocent people.

On June 8, 2023, in Bortianor in Accra, an anti-robbery and land guard operation resulted in the shooting of five suspected land guards and the recovery of five guns, according to the Ghana Police Service.

According to a statement issued by Assistant Commissioner of Police and Director of Public Affairs Grace Ansah-Akrofi, the perpetrators had been terrorising locals and landowners in Bortianor and neighbouring towns.

The police claim that an exchange of fire took place when the suspects, who were hiding, opened fire as a police squad approached. Five suspects suffered injuries as a consequence, and the hospital eventually declared them dead. The other suspects managed to avoid capture and are presently at large.

An unregistered Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, four motorbikes (three of which are unregistered), a knife, and pepper spray were among the items the police claimed to have recovered. They also claimed to have recovered an AK-47 assault rifle and ten rounds of ammunition for it, as well as a pump-action gun with nine BB cartridges and two pistols with ten rounds of 9mm ammunition.

The grieving relatives, however, have referred to the Police statement as a cover-up.

The head of the families, Nii Shipi Kwei Mensah III, Bortianor Shipi, said on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm’s Frontline that the Police had killed innocent people and that this has to be looked into.

He urged that an impartial committee look into the situation.

He labelled as “false” the assertions that the victims were the ones who opened fire on the policemen.

“The Police sold falsehoods. They were not armed thieves or security guards when the young lads were slain. At first, they were beaten up, accused, and shot multiple times. The cops ambushed and murdered the young men as they were unwinding at their normal location. If they were criminals, shouldn’t they have been detained and prosecuted? Why would you invade the region and slaughter these young lads who were not armed?

We don’t trust the Police to undertake a credible inquiry, he emphasised. We desire an impartial body to look into the situation.

Nii Kojo Mensah I, the Mankralo who lost two of his children as well as a sibling in the tragedy, has said he desires justice.

He claims that since his brother’s passing, the twins who were just born by his brother’s wife are now fatherless.

“We want the situation investigated. Along with a sibling whose wife had recently given birth to twins, I also lost two of my own children. They weren’t armed land guard robbers, these young lads. I’m asking for an impartial body to look into the situation.