Security Analyst and Executive Director of Jatikay Centre for Human Security and Peace Building Adib Saani has disclosed that pellets retrieved from the body of the a Police Divisional Commander who was shot by secessionists in the Volta region are not entirely fatal.
According to him, the discharges from the weapons used by the ‘rebels’ are deemed non-lethal and are meant to only cause pain, however, it can lead to death if it hits a sensitive organ of the body.
The Divisional Police Commander, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Denis Afiakype is one of the officers who were severely wounded after the secessionist group engaged the police in a gun battle.
It has emerged that 19 pellets were discharged into the body of the police commander.
“In many cases, it is deemed non-lethal. If it hits you, it is meant to cause pain. So when you go to other jurisdictions such as Kashmir in India, it is used against protesters because it is deemed as non-lethal type of weapon. It doesn’t usually penetrate the body. However, when it hits sensitive part like the eye, it can kill,” Mr. Adib explained in an interview on Accra based Joy fm.
The separatist group attacked the Aveyime and Mepe Police stations overpowering the officers on duty and seizing Ak47 assault rifles belonging to the security personnel as well as taking into hostage three police officers. The group also proceeded to mount blockades on major entry and exit points of the Volta Region.
The blockades on the roads were later cleared by as result of a joint security operation paving way for passengers who were stranded to reach their destinations. The operation also led to the arrest of over 30 suspected members of the secessionist group.
A joint Release by the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ghana Police Service in the evening of Friday, September 25, 2020 disclosed that the police commander at Aveyime Police station was wounded and had been evacuated to the Police Hospital.
