A security analyst has said the swift re-assignment of Col Frank Agyeman to head the 64 Infantry Regiment is shocking but suggests there could be a logical explanation.
Dr Ishmael Norman, Founder of the Institute for Security, Disaster and Emergency Studies has said, just like the hundreds of Ghanaians who have sighted the contents of a leaked memo detailing the re-assignment, he was also stunned to learn that within 24 hours, Col Agyeman has been posted to the special unit as Commanding Officer.
“I also saw that secular and I was quite flabbergasted because on the 20th he is interdicted and on the 21st he is being reassigned… the Chief of Defence Staff team may be conducting their own military-style kind of investigation into whatever had happened at the National Security – the arrest of Caleb and Zoe and so on. Who gave the order and why was the order given,†he suggested.
READ ALSO:Â Col Agyeman, man who kicked Caleb Kudah, now heads 64 Infantry
Col Agyeman allegedly ordered and took part in the torture of Citi FM/Citi TV journalist, Caleb Kudah on May 11, 2021, at the National Security Ministry.
The senior security officer, according to the journalist, kicked him in the groin while he was kneeling on the floor as part of the many assaults he suffered.
Col Frank Agyeman, then Director of Operations at the National Security Ministry, was sent back to the Ghana Armed Forces for further investigation and action for his role in manhandling the journalist.
The decision to withdraw the secondment of Col Frank Agyeman and to return him to the Armed Forces, according to a statement signed by the Minister for National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah, was taken after investigations into the alleged assault on the journalist.
The release from the Minister stated that Col Agyeman and three of his men breached standard operating procedure in the way they conducted themselves and hence ordered the withdrawal of their services.
Many said their withdrawal from the National Security was not punitive enough.
Some Ghanaians commenting on the leaked memo on social media say Col Agyeman has rather been promoted with the re-assignment to the 64 Infantry Regiment.
Public outcry for justice for the Caleb Kudah has been sustained for over three weeks because of numerous accounts of physical assault and human rights abuses by the National Security operatives against journalists and other private persons.
The journalist explains he was arrested and tortured for hours for secretly filming abandoned, and weather-beaten vehicles parked at the precincts of the National Security Ministry.
Many say the leaked memo justifies criticisms that the Nana Akufo-Addo administration supports and is maybe fanning the rising spate of brutalities against Ghanaians who are deemed critical of the government.
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Speaking on the latest twist in the issue, Dr Norman said Col Agyeman’s new assignment may be just temporary.
“They [Ghana Armed Forces] also have to satisfy the due process requirement as required by military law and so in the meantime, they cannot deny the posting or duty that he [Col Agyeman] is supposed to perform. So I believe it is both a bit of an uncomfortable situation right now,†he said.
He added: “I can also understand why they want to exhaust the due processes under military law so that if they come to the same conclusion as National Security then he will be appropriately punished. Until that is done, I think we have to give them time to do their job.â€
Formerly the 64 Infantry Battalion, the unit of the Armed Forces that Col Agyeman has now been assigned to head was the Commando unit of the erstwhile Provisional National Defence Council.
It was formed in 1983 to protect the John Rawlings regime, hence many say the security chief who assaulted the journalist seems to have been promoted, not punished.
The 64 Infantry Regiment comprises personnel trained in all areas of the armed profession.