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Preliminary investigations by police into the brutal assault of a sixteen year old by some five military personnel for allegedly stealing a Techno Phone, have revealed that the number of soldiers who carried out the cruel act could be more.

The 16-year-old boy, Christopher Bam, who was an errand boy for the soldiers, was severely battered by five of them at Tamale in the Northern Region on suspicion that he had stolen a phone belonging to one of them.

The Northern Regional Command of the Airbone Force later handed over three of the five soldiers who brutally assaulted the teenager to the Northern Regional Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, for a thorough investigation into the matter.

The police say the soldiers who were picked up over the matter have been granted police inquiry bail.

Speaking to Citi News, the Public Relations Officer of the Northern Regional Police Command, ASP Ebenezer Tetteh said, “We took statements from them and have granted them police inquiry bail so we have released them to the military authorities.”

ASP Tetteh further added that one of the suspects mentioned some other soldiers were also involved in the assault on the teenager.

He however says the police are counting on the victim to identify those who carried out the act after his recovery.

“I know of one whose name was mentioned as being the one who assaulted the young man; but we are hearing that he is mentioning some other officers as being part of it so until he [the victim] recovers and comes back, he will be the best person to tell the police which other military officer assaulted him apart from the main suspects that we have taken statements from,” ASP Tetteh explained.

Victim in need of psychiatric help

Also speaking to Citi News, the lawyer for the victim, Francis Xavier Sosu, said the victim has been referred to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital to undergo some physical and psychiatric test to facilitate his recovery.

According to him, the victim’s physical condition appears to be stable and he is responding to treatment; but he will need help to deal with the trauma from the attack.

“The reason he was referred was because he was still showing signs of some form of disorder so we are hoping that once we undergo some form of psychiatric treatment and some form of psychiatric care at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, we should be sure that he should return to normal.”