Nkoranza killing: Suspect Albert Donkor was an armed robber - Police

The Ghana Police Service says its investigations shows that a man who died in their custody at Nkoranza last year was an alleged armed robber and lost his life during an operation to apprehend his accomplices.

In an investigative brief discussed with the families of the deceased in Nkoranza last Friday, the police insisted that Albert Donkor, 27, was part of a group of alleged robbers that attacked and robbed passengers along the Nkoronza-Jema road on April 25, last year.

However, the police said investigations revealed that Donkor would not have died if the police officers had acted more professionally.

Police Professional 

“Investigation by the Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSB) into the incident revealed that in spite of  the suspect’s involvement in the robbery, on hindsight, if the police officers who took the deceased to the hideout of his accomplices had acted a little more professionally, they might have been better able to protect him from the gunshots that led to his death,” the police added.

The killing of Donkor led to widespread riot at Nkoranza in May last year, with the youth of the town claiming that Donkor was a trader and not an armed robber.

Wearing red armbands, the youth blocked some streets of the town, burnt used car tyres, as well as besieged the local police station and vandalised some vehicles and other property to register their displeasure at the incident.

Police investigations 

However, according to the police, on April 25, last year, it received a distress call from a passenger that some armed robbers had blocked the Nkoronza-Jema highway and were robbing passengers.

The police said it arrived on the scene and exchanged gunshots with the robbers, making the robbers to flee into the bush.

According to the police, one of the victims gave a vivid description of the robbers, including one that wore a grey-like hoodie.

“Police mounted intelligence operations and subsequently arrested Albert Donkor, the deceased, in his house, and a grey-like hoodie was retrieved from his room.

The deceased, during interrogation also admitted that he had taken part in the robbery and mentioned some of his accomplices,” the police investigative brief said.

On how Donkor died, the investigative brief said he died during a shootout when he led the police to apprehend his supposed accomplice.

Deceased

“The deceased led the police to the hideout of his accomplices, but they came under fire as they approached. The police returned fire and after the exchange, Albert Donkor was found with gunshot wounds. He was rushed to a hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival,” the police said.

In a related development, the police hasve absolved themselves from any involvement in the death of  Victor Kwadwo Owusu, one of the protestors who attacked the police station at Nkoranza after the death of Donkor.

According to the police, autopsy report showed that Owusu died from a severe head injury and not gunshot as alleged by the family and others.

“On June 6, 2022, the autopsy was conducted by a police pathologist in the presence of the father of the deceased, James Boamah and the investigator. The pathologist gave the verbal cause of death as severe head injury, fall and brain tumor,” the police said in the statement.

“The key finding of the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Owusu is that he died as a result of a head injury, fall and brain tumor and not as a result of a gunshot,” the police said.