Police declare 9 more wanted in connection with shooting in NDC office in Kumasi

The Ashanti Regional Police Command has declared nine more people wanted for their alleged involvement in last Monday’s shooting incident at the regional headquarters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Kumasi.

It brings to 13, the number of persons wanted in the bloody incident, which led to the death of one person and serious injury to another

A statement issued by the Ashanti Regional Public Relations Officer of the Police, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mr Godwin Ahianyo named the nine people as Sanni Mohammed also known as Commando, Wayo, Element, Jah Rue, Petit, Akon, Fayiz, Mallam and Rock.

The first four persons who were declared wanted were Hussein Bari alias Warrior, Midjima, Damos and Abu Taliban.

The regional command appealed to the general public to assist the police by volunteering information that would lead to the arrest of the suspects and their eventual prosecution.

Burial

Earlier Wednesday, the body of the slain member of the Ashanti Regional Task Force of the NDC, Wasiru Iddrisu, was laid to rest at the Tafo MuslimCemetery. That was after some Islamic rites had been performed at the Sawaba
Mosque, amid heavy security presence. The military had to accompany the youth from Sawaba to the burial ground to prevent them from engaging in any acts of lawlessness.

Wasiru, also known as Aboabo Gyata, was shot dead by persons suspected to belong to the Hawks, another pro-NDC group, last Monday. The family had wanted the body to be released to them for burial either last Monday or Tuesday, in accordance with Islamic rites and tradition.

However, the request was delayed by the police for the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) to conduct an autopsy on the body.

Five of the wanted persons. From left - Element, Akon, Sanni Mohammed (Commando), Hussein Bari (Warrior) and Rock.

Clash

According to sources, the security agencies had picked up information that the youth of Sawaba and Aboabo where the deceased resided intended to march to Tafo Zongo, where they believed the perpetrators were hiding, to avenge their neighbour’s death.

The military had to prevent the youth from changing their route to Tafo Zongo after the burial and escorted them back to Aboabo. The solemn burial rites were performed in a tense atmosphere.

The pain of the loss of a dear one could be clearly seen on the faces of the residents who, but for the presence of the police and the military, might have taken the law into their own hands.

Concern

They called for justice for their fallen hero and called on the police not to shield anyone but get to the root of the matter.

Some of the residents who knew the deceased believed that his death had nothing to do with politics but was a personal issue which turned bloody. Hussein Bari, also known as Warrior, is alleged to have shot Iddrisu more than six times after an argument in front of the Ashanti Regional Office of the NDC in Kumasi. The suspect is alleged to have shot another member of the same group, Abdul Rahman, who is currently receiving treatment at the KATH.

Background

The challenge posed by political vigilantism reared its head in Kumasi last Monday when a group of people believed to be members of the Hawks, a vigilante group linked to the opposition NDC, disrupted a meeting between some members of the National and the Ashanti Regional executives of the party.

The meeting was intended to discuss matters relating to the upcoming NDC presidential primary scheduled for Saturday, February 23.

Members of the vigilante group, riding motorbikes, are said to have fired indiscriminately, killing one person and causing serious injury to another.