Ghana’s Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, yesterday, Wednesday, July 28, 2021, was in parliament to brief the house on the state of some high profile murder cases that his outfit is pursuing.
The murder cases were of importance to the house because while it bothered on the general security of the citizens it also bothered more on the security of lawmakers. After all, two Members of Parliament had been murdered in the last few years.
The AG’s visit to Parliament had become necessary after the MP for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, filed a question in Parliament seeking information on the high-profile murder cases.
Some of the high-profile murder cases that the MP was seeking a status update on included journalist Ahmed Hussein-Suale; former MP for Abuakwa North, J.B. Danquah Adu; former MP for Mfantseman, Ekow Kwansah Hayford and a professor at the University of Ghana, Prof. Emmanuel Benneh.
Details of the meeting
During the meeting, Mr Dame told Parliament that the police immediately started investigations into the death of Ahmed Hussein-Suale who was murdered on the night of January 16, 2019, and shot him several times in his car.
“An iPhone 7 plus mobile phone and Huawei smartphone belonging to the deceased were found and retrieved including pellets,’ he added.
“On January 22, 2019, exhibits retrieved from the scene were sent to the Police Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic examination. In the course of investigations, two key witnesses namely Asare Bediako, 28, and Abdul-Rahman Awal, 27, were contacted”, Mr Yeboah Dame narrated.
According to him, based on the recommendations of the Department of Geomatic Engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUS), the two eyewitnesses were presented before the Forensic artists on 27th January 2019 for sketched images of the suspects to be drawn to make it easier for the suspects to be identified. After listening and recording the description of the assailants, the Forensic artists sketched two artistic images, the Minister asserted.
The witnesses finally confirmed the sketched images as the perfect resemblance of the assailants, and upon intelligence, suspects Edward Gatson Kofi Goka, Musah Iddrisu alias Yaa Pono, Francis Osei Poku alias 666 and Abdul Rashid Meizongo alias Kakalika, were arrested for investigation. According to the Minister, the mobile phones of the deceased were sent to the United States of America (USA) for unlocking and extraction of information by Information Technology experts.
The Minister said the huge volumes of data comprising millions of documents, videos, audios, text and Whatsapp messages are being analysed by a team from the Homicide and Cybercrime Units while investigations on other aspects of the matter also continue.
J.B Danquah
In the case of Joseph Boakye Danquah-Adu, Mr Dame indicated that two accused persons, Daniel Asiedu aka Sexy Dondon and Vincent Bossu alias Junior Agogo, are currently standing trial over the unfortunate death.
The AG said the trial of the accused persons in the murder of the MP was a case before the High Court (Criminal Court 5) presided over by Her Ladyship Lydia Osei Marfo.
The AG said unfortunately, the former presiding judge was transferred to Ho, and a new judge was appointed to the Criminal Court 5, pointing out that “not long afterwards, the nation was hit with the Covid-19 pandemic so trials of criminal cases were put on hold. On 9th February 2021, the trial resumed before the new judge, Justice Lydia Marfo.”
Ekow Hayford
On the former Mfantseman MP, the Minister said on October 9, 2020, at about 1 am between Abeadze Dominase and Duadze on the Mankessim-Assin Fosu highway in the Central region, was ambushed and killed.
He disclosed that investigations led to the police tracing the MP’s Samsung A50 mobile phone to Aboabo No. 2 in Kumasi, and added that they found the phone with one Nazairu Fudailu Nash alias SP, who stated that he bought the phone from Alhassan Abubakar aka Abu Fulani, who is a mobile phone repairer for GH¢780.00.
“When Alhassan was arrested, he informed the police that he also bought the phone from one Mohammed for GH¢650.00. The police could, however, not trace the said Mohammed even though they obtained detailed information about him.”
On 10th May 2021, a robbery attack similar to the one that claimed the MP’s life took place at Heman-Akokoaso on the Obuasi-Kumasi road in the Ashanti Region but the police were able to foil the robbery leading to the arrest of the robbers including a certain Jibor Ali.
“In the course of interrogation, Jibor Ali informed the police that the three of them, together with the deceased Mohammed, were involved in the robbery that led to the murder of the MP at Abeadze Dominase on the Mankessim-Assin Fosu Highway on the 9th October 2020.”
Prof Benneh
Regarding Prof Benneh, the Minister said the body of the lecturer was found on September 12, 2020, by his sister, Ambassador Elizabeth Afia Benneh and others after they broke the lock into his residence. They had not heard from him since the night of 10th September 2020.
“In the course of investigations, three suspects were arrested. The first suspect, James Nana Womba, who is believed to have strangled the deceased to death, also died in custody on 17th October 2020,” he asserted.
“After investigations were concluded, the docket was forwarded to the Office of the Attorney-General on February 3, 2021. The advice was dispatched on February 14, 2021, recommending the prosecution of the suspects.”
On May 21, 2021, a Bill of Indictment was filed to commence the prosecution of the second suspect Ebenezer Kwayisi, he told the House.