An altercation between a Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) officer and a motorbike rider (Okada) at the Aflao Beat 9 Border Post over the nationality of his pillion rider devolved into violence, resulting in the shooting of the rider and another immigration officer.
Both the biker and the immigration officer were shot in the leg by bullets fired from the gun of a soldier who arrived at the scene to calm things down.
After the incident at around 9am, on Sunday, January 15, 2023, the two injured people were rushed to the Aflao Municipal Hospital.
The immigration officer has since been treated and discharged while the rider was transferred to the Ho Teaching Hospital.
The incident has heightened tensions between residents and security forces in the border town.
Maxwell Lugudor, the Ketu South Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), informed Graphic Online’s Alberto Mario Noretti that an investigation into the situation had commenced.
However, he did not reveal the names of the immigration officer or the rider.
According to the MCE, who chairs the Municipal Security Council, the immigration officer observed the motorbike rider at the border location in the morning. He signaled the rider to halt so the pillion rider could be profiled.
Reports states that the immigration officer insisted that the pillion rider was a foreigner, not a Ghanaian.
Mr Lugudor stated that the rider claimed that he was transporting his brother on the bike and prevented the officer from questioning him about his nationality.
This led to bitter exchanges and physical confrontations between the immigration officer and the rider.
Sensing danger, the officer called a solder to the scene for reinforcement.
The MCE said things then took a turn for the worse with a fierce physical struggle between the rider and the soldier, during which the soldier fired his duty weapon.
In the process, the bullet(s) hit the rider and the immigration officer.
As of Tuesday afternoon, some residents who spoke to Graphic Online identified the okada rider as Kwaku Tengey, 35.