Story By: Felix Ernest Odamtten / Muhammed Faisel Mustapha….
The Chief and Head of the Nii Afutufio Seremewuo Family of Adoteiman, Nii Seremewuo III, has alleged that he was brutally assaulted, detained and subjected to degrading treatment by armed military personnel during a pre dawn operation at his residence in the La Nkwantanang Madina Municipality of the Greater Accra Region.
According to the Chief, the alleged incident occurred between May 7th and 8th, 2026, following an earlier confrontation involving four armed men in civilian clothing and his friend, Alhassan Feseni, whom the men allegedly accused of taking a mobile phone.
Nii Seremewuo said he was in bed on the evening of May 7th when he heard voices outside speaking in Ga, including the question: “Why are you taking pictures of the Chief’s Palace?”
He said he subsequently went outside and saw four men in civilian clothing, allegedly armed with AK-47 rifles and pistols, restraining Feseni. The Chief alleged that the men severely beat his friend before forcing him into an ash-coloured 4×4 vehicle without a visible rear number plate.
The Chief said the vehicle displayed registration number GV-136-14 at the front and was driven away. He later said he found the phone the men were allegedly looking for and attempted to pursue them but could not trace the vehicle.
According to Nii Seremewuo, he subsequently handed the phone to the Central Police Station and made a report, saying he expected the matter to be handled through the appropriate law enforcement channels.
The Chief alleges that, other military officers were subsequently mobilised, led by Captain Emmanuel Banazni, Lieutenant Kingston Lomotey, CPO1 Adjetey, WO I Salifu Adams and other fully armed officers. The identities, ranks and roles attributed to the officers remain allegations requiring confirmation from the relevant authorities.
The following morning, at approximately 3:20a.m., Nii Seremewuo said the situation escalated dramatically while he was asleep upstairs with his family. He alleges that he heard footsteps in the compound before approximately 20 uniformed soldiers, many allegedly masked and carrying assorted rifles, entered his bedroom.
The Chief alleged that an unmasked officer wearing the rank of captain demanded documents establishing his chieftaincy and papers relating to the Adoteiman lands. When he hesitated, he said, the officer allegedly struck him on the forehead with the weapon he was carrying.
Nii Seremewuo alleged that other soldiers subsequently joined the assault, leaving him bleeding heavily from the head. He said the blood eventually covered his face and impaired his vision while he heard the captain order his son, Okoe, to retrieve the keys to vehicles parked at the residence.
He further alleged that, while he was calling for help, another commanding voice ordered his wife and children to be taken into a room and locked inside. The Chief said he subsequently lost track of what happened to them until later in the operation.
Another commander, he alleged, eventually instructed one of the soldiers to clean the blood from his face before he was escorted into the compound. There, he said, he saw a soldier holding the keys to his vehicles while other personnel had allegedly removed numerous documents from his bedroom.
The Chief alleged that the documents were examined in his presence while he was subjected to insults and slaps. He said the leading captain then ordered him to accompany the soldiers as they searched his vehicles for three things: the alleged mobile phone, firearms and his chieftaincy documents.
Regarding the phone, Nii Seremewuo said he told the soldiers that it had already been deposited at the Central Police Station and that a report had been made. He also acknowledged possessing pistols and directed the officers to where they were kept, but said the soldiers initially failed to locate them before he was taken back to identify the firearm.
He alleged that the second commander subsequently took possession of the firearm. The Chief said the soldiers also demanded his Gazette confirming his status as chief, but he told them it was among the documents they had already removed from his room.
Nii Seremewuo further alleged that after searching his vehicles, the leading captain ordered masked soldiers to cut and deflate the tyres of all his vehicles. He said he interpreted the action as an attempt to prevent him from travelling to the disputed lands.
“While all these callous and inhuman acts were ongoing,” the Chief alleged, the leading captain was communicating with someone by telephone and saying that “they have gotten me.”
The Chief said the soldiers subsequently escorted him away from his residence and placed him inside an unnumbered, ash coloured Nissan Patrol. He alleged that four unnumbered military Toyota pickup trucks formed part of the convoy that transported him to the Southern Command, where he was held for several hours.
According to Nii Seremewuo, soldiers at the Southern Command allegedly slapped him repeatedly and struck him with metal objects. He claimed that he received approximately 17 slaps and several blows while sitting inside the vehicle.
He said the convoy later proceeded towards Burma Camp, where he was taken to the Military Police headquarters and detained. According to the Chief, his brothers, John Ntiri Ofori and Tatse, traced him there and were themselves detained for about one hour and 20 minutes before a senior officer ordered their release after hearing their explanation.
Nii Seremewuo said he was subsequently advised to seek medical treatment but alleged that, instead of being taken to the 37 Military Hospital, he was transported to a clinic within the Southern Command at Teshie, where he received an injection before being taken to the Central Police Station.
At the Central Police Station, the Chief alleged that the captain and the alleged owner of the phone entered an office and said they had been instructed by the Ayimensa Police to bring the device. He said the phone was handed over, after which the alleged owner left the vehicle as the Chief was transported to the Ayimensa Police Station.
The Chief said he was eventually handed over to the Ayimensa Police as a suspect, together with two polythene bags containing documents allegedly taken from his room. He complained about his pistol and the phone but alleges that the captain told police that both items were being kept by the Southern Commander for investigations.
He said he informed the police that, after the phone was handed over at the Central Police Station, the convoy did not return to the Southern Command. The Ayimensa Police subsequently issued him a medical report form for treatment at the Lagoon Hospital, according to his account.
Upon returning home, Nii Seremewuo alleged that he discovered damage to some doors and the disappearance of GH¢130,000 in cash. He further alleged that GH¢700 was taken from his pocket during the alleged assault.
The allegations involve serious claims of assault, unlawful detention, property damage, seizure of a firearm and documents, and missing cash. They have not been independently verified, while the identities, authority and conduct of the personnel allegedly involved remain matters for the relevant security institutions to establish.
Nii Seremewuo is therefore appealing to President John Dramani Mahama, the leadership of the Ghana Armed Forces, the Ghana Police Service and other appropriate state institutions to conduct an independent and transparent investigation. He says the inquiry should examine police and Military Police records, medical evidence, witness accounts, documentary records, vehicle details and any available photographic or video evidence.
The Chief insists that the matter extends beyond his personal ordeal, arguing that it concerns the protection of traditional authorities, civilians and their families, as well as public confidence in Ghana’s security institutions. He is calling for accountability if wrongdoing is established, while stressing that the military must remain an institution governed by discipline, professionalism and the Constitution.
“The military are not landguards. No security officer should use the uniform or state authority to intimidate, assault or unlawfully dispossess a civilian.”
The military personnel and officers named in the allegations have not, in the material provided, been given an opportunity to respond to the claims, and the allegations should therefore not be treated as established facts. The Chief says he remains hopeful that President Mahama and the relevant security authorities will establish the truth through a credible investigation and, where wrongdoing is proven, ensure that the appropriate disciplinary or legal action follows.
