Member of Parliament for Tano North, Gideon Boako, has urged the Ghana Armed Forces to safeguard the rights of civilians during the ongoing anti-illegal mining operations in the Ahafo Region.
His appeal follows a major joint police and military exercise in Kenyasi and Hwediem on Wednesday, which resulted in several arrests and the reported death of one civilian. The operation was aimed at suspects accused of detaining members of the National Anti-Illegal Mining Operations Secretariat (NAIMOS) earlier in the week.
Dr. Boako, who represents the Minority side in Parliament, expressed concern that innocent people — including women and youth — may have been caught in the security raid.
“Thousands of people whose houses were invaded unawares have been taken from Ahafo to the Ashanti Region without time to prepare. Among those arrested, there are certainly people engaged in illegal mining, but there are also innocent ones,” he said.
While supporting the state’s efforts to tackle illegal mining, Dr. Boako emphasized that such operations must be conducted “with a human face” to prevent abuses of citizens’ rights.
“We must ensure proper investigations before such operations, so that the right people are targeted. If anybody is innocently attacked or arrested, their rights are violated one way or the other,” he cautioned.
He further noted that many affected individuals are breadwinners who may have turned to small-scale mining for survival and urged the release of those found innocent after investigations.
“We believe in the Ghana Military Service and trust that once investigations are done, the innocent will be freed. But we appeal that future actions should target only those truly culpable,” he added.
