I don’t know why my men wore masks - SWAT Commander Azugu
18th February 2019
Commander of the SWAT Unit of National Security, DSP Samuel Azugu says he does not know why the team he led to duty at La Bawaleshie during the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election wore masks.
He told the Emile Short Commission investigating the violence that characterised the by-election that although there are instances when the team is allowed to put on masks, that particular operation did not require that they put them on and he is unable to tell why they did.
He explained to the Commission that “depending on the nature of the assignment…sometimes we go and lay ambush somewhere and we become prey to mosquitoes, so we have a particular gear that we wear which covers the neck and face so that we do not get mosquito bites.”
He added that men from the SWAT Unit may wear masks when entering a community in which they are known or are familiar with as it was necessary to hide their identities because they may return to the community to collect information or investigate an issue.
“So depending on the nature of the operation and the location that they are they don’t wear, but on that particular day, I am yet to know why they put on masks,” he added.