Physical instructor shot dead at Tantra Hills

The Mile 7 Police have begun investigations into the murder of a physical instructor well-known in the neighbourhood, Stephen Akowuah, who was shot and killed instantly at his home at Tantra Hills last Thursday.

According to initial investigations, at about 1 a.m. on the said day, Akowuah, popularly known as Little, aged 34, met his untimely death after he responded to a knock on his door.

According to the police, the information they gathered was that he was attacked by three well-built men; one of them in a mask, with another said to have fired the gun.

The Public Relations Officer of the Accra Regional Police Command, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mrs Effia Tenge, said police officers responded to a distress call that a man had been shot in his house.

She indicated that when the police arrived at the crime scene, they learnt that three men stormed the house and shot Akowuah without any provocation.

The police also found that another man, who is also a tenant, was hit on the head, injuring him in the process.

Jealous rival

When the Daily Graphic visited the crime scene, there was an uneasy calm in the house where the incident had taken place.

Neighbours had also gathered around and were seen discussing the incident.

Some friends and colleagues of Little from the gym where he worked had also arrived at the house, but none of them wanted to talk to the Daily Graphic.

Some co-tenants and friends, however, attributed the incident to the action of a jealous rival.

According to them, Akowuah had on a number of occasions been confronted by his suspected killer for having an affair with a woman the supposed killer claimed was his partner as well.

A co-tenant, who spoke to the Daily Graphic on condition of anonymity, said one of the three well-built men who was masked, had the physique of the man they had seen come to the house to confront Akowuah over the woman, warning him to stay away.

He insisted that the two unmasked men did not look familiar, but the one who had the mask on, looked very familiar, hence their suspicion.

Incident

Some co-tenants who said they were also attacked by the three men, intimated that in the wee hours of July 22, 2021, the yet-to-be-identified attackers who appeared intoxicated, invaded the 9-room compound house on a motorbike and shot and killed Akowuah without any provocation as soon as he opened his door after a knock.

They said their attention was drawn to the incident by the sound of the revving engine of the motorbike.

According to the tenants, the three suspects, who spoke Hausa, later entered the room of Akowuah and took away his two phones which were on a table in the room.

To prevent the other tenants in the house from calling the police and others for assistance, one of the tenants said the suspects then moved from room to room to rob all tenants in the house of their mobile phones.

The three suspects also took various sums of money from the tenants.

A tenant who was hesitant in handing over his mobile phones was hit on the head twice with the butt of the pistol and was injured in the process.

The police arrived later and after their initial investigation, they took the body to the Police Hospital mortuary for preservation and autopsy while the injured man was taken to a nearby medical facility for medical attention.