Ghana's revolutionary or military period is replete with stories of power abuse, wanton human rights abuse, corruption, and the exercise of indiscretion by errant members of the security agencies, particularly the police and armed forces.
One such story that reflects the extent of the abuse of power is the shooting of a relative of by an officer of the Airforce of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), who, according to the narration, had a habit of indiscriminately shooting at people.
The story is told by Corporal (retired) Matthew Adabuga, who was a key member of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), which morphed into the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) and, subsequently the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
According to Corporal (retired) Adabuga, owing to Rawlings's status as a member of the Airforce, officers of that branch of the Ghana Armed Forces became powerful under his reign.
