Azugu's thinking skills may have failed – Head of National Security

General News of Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

2019-02-20

The director of national security operations, Colonel Michael Opoku, attributed to exhaustion some comments made by his commander, the DSP Samuel Azugu, during his testimony before the Emile Short Investigation Committee on Monday.

DSP Azugu was criticized and ridiculed for making some "unhelpful" comments during his session.

However, speaking to the committee on Wednesday, Colonel Opoku emphatically accepted DSP Azugu's "mosquito" account. For him, the officer had been "grilled" for four hours and was probably exhausted; his thinking skills may have been affected accordingly.

"He was here for about four hours and his thinking may have been a problem for him," Colonel Opoku responded to a question asked by the Commission's lawyer about some of the SWAT leader's claims.
He also noted that his commander's comments on "mosquitoes" were clearer.

According to him, the Azugu DSP gave the mask for two reasons, but unfortunately, the media were interested in the reason of mosquitoes.

He insisted that the agents wore the mask because of identity issues.

"The masks, as my DSP says, were designed for mosquito bites, it was not a joke, but we mask it to make sure our agents are not seen," he said.

"Agents live in communities. If you see a masked policeman, it means that this policeman lives in the community and we can see him today or tomorrow after the operation. So, normally, those who live in or are likely to be seen and where their cover will be blown are masked and in this situation, those who were masked, it was essential, we did not want their cover to be destroyed ".

"Some of our agents prefer to wear masks because of their work on behalf of the state.They live in our community, they do not want to be identified, even at my headquarters," he added.

"He was here for about four hours and his thinking may have been a problem for him," Colonel Opoku responded to a question asked by the Commission's lawyer about some of the SWAT leader's claims.

Context

DSP Azugu, who appeared before the commission on Monday, February 19, told members that National Security agents sometimes wore masks to protect themselves while denying the reason for the Ayawaso West Wuogon polls.

"Depending on the nature of the mission, we sometimes go into ambushes and fall prey to mosquitoes. We therefore wear special equipment that covers the neck and face so we do not get bitten by a mosquito, "he said. the commission of three members.

Since then, he has received a violent reaction from sections of Ghanaians who thought his response was immature and hilarious.