Barely 24 hours after the police disclosed that a body had been discovered in a shallow grave at Bamahu, the special purpose intelligence and investigation team, as part of its surveillance during the night of September 19, 2022, recovered another body of a male adult, but this time it had been cut open with the heart and kidney removed.
Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, IGP
After the necessary crime scene examination, the body was removed and deposited at the Regional Hospital, Wa, awaiting autopsy.
A Pathologist from the Police Hospital in Accra has led a team to Wa as part of investigation into the incidents.
The Ghana Police Service, on Tuesday, released a statement urging anyone with credible information that would lead to the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators to come forward and share it with them.
They disclosed that a reward of GH¢100,000 had been set aside for anyone who provided information in that regard.
“Analysis of intelligence gathered so far suggests that there may be more than one person involved in this heinous crime, and we will do whatever it takes to get them arrested to face justice,” the statement added.
The Ghana Police Service, on Saturday, September 17, 2022 released a statement that they had enhanced security in Wa following concerns by the residents.
The police deployed about 300 special purpose investigation and intelligence teams, as well as additional police visibility and crime combat teams to Wa under the leadership of the Director-General of Operations.
The police stated: “The Police Administration wishes to assure the people of the Wa Metropolis and its environs that it has taken cognisance of their security concerns, and the Administration has, therefore, put in place measures to support the Regional Police Command to beef up security and to ensure the safety of all persons in the Metropolis.”
In a subsequent development, Dr. Rashid Pelpuo, Member of Parliament (MP) for Wa Central, claimed that security system flaws in Wa had contributed to some of the deaths that had occurred in recent months.
Speaking to journalists yesterday, Dr. Rashid Pelpuo said: “I suppose the security system is weak. There is no direct relation between exactly what they [criminals] are doing and what the security is doing.”
“While the security officers are stopping people on the roads and stopping cars and blowing sirens on roads and searching cars and sometimes blowing sirens on the road, these people are quietly mapping out a plan and by the time anybody realises, they have gone to an outskirt of the town and done their thing,” the MP said.
He added: “I think that this is beyond ordinary appearance of policemen on the street. There must be some intelligence deep enough to overcome what these people are doing. They are unable to match that intelligence with what is happening.”
Background
A few weeks ago, the residents of Wa embarked on a demonstration over the alleged killing and disappearance of some residents in the community in the last few months.
On 19th September 21, 2022, the police released a statement that the special purpose police intelligence and investigation teams working with members of the community on Sunday, September 18, 2022, discovered a body in a shallow grave at Bamahu, a suburb of Wa.
The body was later identified by family members of the deceased as that of Seidu Baga, a private security guard, who was reported missing on September, 16, 2022 and later exhumed and conveyed to the Regional Hospital, Wa, for autopsy and investigation.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, then went to Wa and embarked on a security tour with the Upper West Regional Police Command of the Municipality and interacted with some residents at the Wa Kejetia Station.
Subsequently, on Monday, the IGP, together with some members of the service, paid a courtesy call on the Overload of the Wa Traditional Area, Wa Naa Seidu Fuseini Pelpuo IV, at his Palace, where he (Wa Naa) expressed dissatisfaction with the police response time in Wa.
According to the Wa Naa, the police could have acted more quickly and sooner to stop the abrupt disappearances and kidnappings from getting worse.
“We appreciate the actions from Headquarters to help stem the tide of what are now obvious spiritual killings in the Wa Municipality. When you realised that the killings were getting one too many, you sent a team of investigators to support the Criminal Investigations Department within the Police Service in the Region.
“When again the Police Service in the region got overwhelmed by the increasing spate of killings, you sent more men to beef up the number of your men on the ground. Admittedly, however, upon hindsight, one can describe the actions, not only as knee-jerk reactions, but also as too little, too late,” the Wa Naa said.
Shortly after the meeting, the police again released a statement that one person believed to be the prime suspect behind the Wa murder case.
Suspect Kankani Adongo was arrested on September 19, 2022, at Bamahu, a suburb of Wa, after extensive collaboration between the police and community search parties. The suspect is in custody and assisting with investigations, meanwhile, he will be arraigned before the court to face justice.
Dr. George Akuffo Dampare later that day visited the Nadowli Police Station, Jirapa District Police Headquarters, Nandom District Police Headquarters, Hamile Police Station and Gwollu District Command to interact with the personnel.
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