We’ll fish out killers of Capt. Mahama; they can’t hide - IGP
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr David Asante-Apeatu, has given assurance that all those involved in the killing of Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama will be fished out and dealt with according to the law.
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He warned that the perpetrators of the heinous crime could run but they could not hide as the police would do everything within their law enforcement powers to get to the bottom of the crime.
Addressing journalists in Accra on Friday, Mr Asante-Apeatu said in this national exercise, the police would collaborate with other law enforcement agencies to deal with the increasing rate of instant justice.
“Persons who violate the laws of the land in the manner akin to what has happened in the late Captain’s case, will be dealt with accordingly. The police are prepared to collaborate with all stakeholders to ensure that this canker of instant justice is permanently stamped out of our society,” the IGP assured.
Present at the press briefing was the Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Obed Akwa, and the police hierarchy.
The press conference was held on the heels of the murder of Captain Mahama at Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central Region last Monday.
Captain Mahama was lynched by some residents of Denkyira-Obuasi who claimed he was an armed robber.
Seven persons who were arrested initially in connection with the murder of Captain Mahama were Thursday remanded in police custody by the Cape Coast District Court.
Arrests so far
So far, 16 suspects have been arrested.
“For the purpose of protecting the sanctity of evidence, we have decided not to parade the 16 suspects currently in our custody. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a war, not only for the security agencies but for all of us, including members of the public,” Mr Asante-Apeatu said.
He said the condemnation of the act by the public was ample attestation to the fact that the gruesome murder of Captain Mahama, a young promising soldier at Denkyira-Obuasi had offended the collective cohesion of the Ghanaian people.
Measures
Mr Asante-Apeatu said already, the Police Administration had started putting in place measures to eradicate those acts of impunity by certain people in the country and some of those measures included the stern enforcement of the law, liaising with other relevant institutions to embark on massive public education, strengthening criminal investigations and taking community policing to a higher level.
He said a number of reasons had been assigned for why such unfortunate behaviours occasionally reared their ugly heads in society and mentioned, for instance, that the wheel of justice ground slowly, low level of confidence in the police, non-deterrent punishment for law breakers, among other factors.
He indicated that people tended to lose sight of the tenets of democracy which were founded on the due process of the law and under no circumstances, was anybody, therefore, justified in taking the law into their hands to exact punishment their own ways when there were established institutions to seek redress.
“It is about time that all understood the processes of the criminal justice system and in this wise it behoves all relevant institutions, both public and private to undertake massive public education and sensitisation in these matters as preventive measures”, he said.
He advised the public to acquire the requisite knowledge they required to be relevant to the society, as “ignorance of the law is no excuse.”
Confidence
For his part, Lieutenant General Akwa expressed satisfaction at the level of investigations so far conducted by the police and urged the officers and men of the Ghana Armed Forces to be calm since all the crucial concerns had been addressed by the police.
CID Boss
The Director of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP), Mr Bright Oduro, who gave a very detailed account of the events leading to the death of Captain Mahama, said the military officer was the Commander of a military detachment stationed at Diaso in the Upper Denkyira West District in the Central Region to check galamsey activities.
On May 29, 2017 at 8a.m., Mr Oduro said, Captain Mahama, wearing civilian clothing but with his sidearm, left his detachment base for a 20-kilometre jogging.
He said between 8:55 a.m. and 9:25a.m., Captain Mahama got to the outskirts of Denkyira-Obuasi village “where a number of women were selling food items by the road side. He stopped to interact with the women and even bought some of the snails which he left with the women to keep for him to pick upon his return from the walk.
“While he was taking out money from his pocket to pay for the snails, the woman from whom he bought the snails and a few others saw Captain Mahama’s sidearm tucked to his waist. Soon after he left the women, one of them telephoned the Assembly Member of Denkyira-Obuasi, William Baah, to report what they had seen,’’ he said.
DCOP Oduro said the assembly member, instead of verifying the information, rather mobilised the “townsfolk to prepare to attack an armed robber who had been sighted by the women.
He called a motor rider, popularly known as Komoko, and together with another man called Kwesi Buah proceeded to confront Captain Mahama’’
The assembly member and his group, DCOP Oduro said, met Captain Mahama near the Denkyira-Obuasi cemetery which was “one and half-kilometres away from the foodstuff sellers and about the same place where the body was found.’’
“As soon as the assembly member and the two men spotted Captain Mahama with the sidearm, they accosted him without giving him the opportunity to identify himself. By this time, the message had spread that an armed robber had been sighted and so other people had come around wielding all forms of implements and started attacking Captain Mahama.
“While Captain Mahama was being attacked, he made efforts to explain his identity, while at the same time attempting to flee from his attackers,’’ COP Oduro said.
The CID boss said police investigations had established that Captain Mahama, in his attempt to escape the attack, jumped onto different motorbikes, but he was not successful in his attempt.
Also, he said, Captain Mahama attempted to escape by “jumping onto a timber truck by entering through the passenger side but the attackers fired and shattered the windscreen causing him to fall off.’’
“There were sporadic shooting from the attackers. The attackers used implements, including clubs, cement blocks and machetes. Captain Mahama was finally killed about 10a.m.,’’ he said.
Mr Oduro said some of those arrested were attempting to escape to other places but were intercepted, while others were arrested at different places such as Sunyani.
He said evidence had been collected which had either been processed or was being processed.
Mr Oduro said the investigations of the police were focused on identifying all persons whose actions caused the death of Captain Mahama, to find out what specific actions were taken by each individual and how the actions were linked to the killing, as well as the intent of the actions.