Commando-trainees currently undergoing rigorous military exercises at Asutuare in the Eastern region are barred from making phone calls, receiving visitors, talking privately and their movements restricted, Todays newspaper underground findings have uncovered.
The directive is a knee-jerk response to what the National Security considers as stringent measures, among many others, curtail further leakages of the group�s activities to the media. Today newspaper reported last week that some 800 commando-trainees who were being recruited by the Sate security apparatus were undergoing various military exercises at the Asutuare Military base where similar exercises were carried out during the first NDC administration of Jerry John Rawlings.
Intelligence signal picked from the state security suggests that one Korsivi Degbor, considered as the second in command to the national security coordinator, issued the warning to the new 300 batch of trainees on his routine visits to the camp on Thursday, August 25th 2009. The Interior minister, Cletus Avoka although confirmed the story in an interview, he did not agree to the paper�s findings that the trainees would be an appendage of the National security.
The minister disclosed that the group was supposed to augment the efforts of the police and military in fighting armed robbery and other spate of criminal activities in the country. His answers contradicted that offered by Col. Nibo, the Public Affairs directorate of the Ghana Armed Forces to the effect that the group is being trained to offer VVIP and VIP protection to some state functions.
Although a similar military commando wing also known as 64 Battalion in the first NDC administration was later integrated into the regular army, the current trainees as the paper gathered, would be a replica of the previous 64 battalion group. They are expected to operate under the beehive of the national security and would be part of the arm wing of the state security agency where they would be carrying out orders of the unit, the papers intelligence gleaning has uncovered.
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