A bodyguard of Employment and Labour Minister Haruna Iddrisu on Wednesday threatened to shoot and kill some demonstrating graduate students who had massed up at the Ministries enclave to present a petition to Deputy Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson.
At the Ministries arena, the students said by happenstance, they bumped into Mr Iddrisu who was driving by, and they decided to mob his car. Mr Iddrisu then stopped, addressed them, and promised to fetch Mr Forson for them in about five minutes. As a means of assurance, he left his car and his driver within the premises and proceeded to get Mr Forson.
Rashid Etuaful, National GRASAG President, told Emefa Apawu on Class91.3FM’s 505 news programme on September 28 that they waited by Mr Iddrisu’s SUV for close to an hour without him showing up with Mr Forson as he had promised.
They kept chanting ‘jama’ songs when a plain-clothed man, who happened to be Mr Iddrisu’s bodyguard, emerged from nowhere and started shoving them away from the vehicle without provocation.
Mr Etuaful said despite the assurance given to the bodyguard at the scene by police officers who were accompanying the demonstrators that they had everything under control, the guard kept pushing the students away from the car.
The GRASAG president continued that the guard then vacated the scene only to return with some military officers, who, upon meeting and interacting with the police – who assured them of having the situation under control – left.
The bodyguard was subsequently isolated and calmed by the police officers.
He, however, returned to the scene with fury, thus sparking a fracas between him and the demonstrating students – a situation that led him to pull out his gun amidst threats to shoot. The students called his bluff by daring him to shoot if he had the guts to.
He, however, did not. He was whisked away by the police officers and later returned with Mr Iddrisu, who calmed the situation.
Mr Forson also got to the scene later on to receive the petition but indicated that his ministry was not the one to have been petitioned but rather, the Scholarship Secretariat. In the view of the students, Mr Forson’s comments and attitude smacked of arrogance.
GRASAG’s demonstration was to pile pressure on government to release their thesis and bursary grants.
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