Suspected cops’ killer lands in BNI cells

The man alleged to be at the centre of the shooting and killing of two policemen at Buduburam in the Central Region, Eric Kojo Duah, who was arrested at Atimpoku last Saturday has been brought to Accra and is currently in Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) cells to help in investigations and face criminal charges.

A police source told the Daily Graphic that Duah was brought to Accra almost immediately after his arrest and that this week a team of investigators would visit the crime scene with all the four suspects in a bid to establish the facts and help prosecutors arraign the suspects.

The investigators would also try to find out if Duah had committed the act unilaterally and find out why he did it.

Meanwhile, a crime scene management team from the Headquarters of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) had been at the crime scene on a number of occasions to elicit evidence and interview key witnesses who chanced on the act.

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Wife’s arrest

Before Duah’s arrest, the police had picked up his wife from her hideout at Teshie.

According to the source, Duah’s wife reportedly left the house in which the couple lived at Buduburam, in a bid to escape possible arrest, but police investigations led to her arrest from a house where she was hiding at Teshie.

The woman, whose identity was not immediately made known by the source, was subsequently handed over to investigators at the CID Headquarters, who interviewed her and elicited information on her husband's whereabouts and that helped to apprehend Duah a few hours later through a coordinated special task exercise by the police.

Hunt for killers

Almost immediately after the murder of the two policemen, Lance Corporal Mohammend Awal and Sergeant Dzamasi, three suspects were arrested, but the fourth person managed to escape.

The three suspects — Ibrahim Zakaria, Isaac Amissah and Dominic Commey — were arrested for killing the two policemen at Gomoa Buduburam, near Kasoa in the Central Region.

The suspects allegedly shot Sgt Dzamesi and L/Corporal Awal, both attached to the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service at Kasoa, who were on task force duties on the Kasoa-Winneba highway.

The suspects, who were using an unregistered Toyota Camry vehicle and said to be driving recklessly, shot the unarmed policemen after refusing to stop when the security officers signalled them to do so.

Duah’s pistol was found in the abandoned Toyota Camry and the Police Administration declared a manhunt operation aimed at getting the suspected killer(s) arrested.

The acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr James Oppong-Boanuh, announced a GH₵10,000 bounty on the head of the suspect who had escaped and also brought together five regional police commands, supported by policemen from the CID Headquarters.

The five regional commands were Accra and Central, in whose jurisdiction the crime took place, and the Eastern, Volta and Western commands, which were involved to monitor possible escape routes.

Copies of the suspect’s picture were also circulated to all police formation units and through traditional and social media platforms to alert the public.

The contingent plan succeeded when the suspect was nabbed by the Atimpoku Police on the Adomi Bridge, near Senchi, in the Eastern Region.

Disguise uncovered

When he was arrested, Duah had a plaster on the left side of his face, possibly to disguise himself, and was travelling on a black Golf saloon car, with registration number GW 5972 - 18, which was heading towards the Volta Region.

Sources close to the police told the Daily Graphic that he was trying to escape to neighbouring Togo, from where his wife is said to hail.

They indicated that he was picked up by the police who were on duty on routine road checks but who had received a signal and the description of the vehicle travelling on that route.

According to the sources, Duah was very nervous when the vehicle in which he was travelling was stopped and the police approached him.

About the suspect

Duah is suspected to be a member of a group of notorious land guards who terrorise landowners and potential landowners in the Gomoa area, as well as Kasoa and its environs.

He is also known to engage in commercial activities by operating a shop where he deals in motorcycles and their spare parts near Buduburam.

His arrest has been attributed to intelligence operation that identified him and gave his exact description and that of the car he was using.

Statement

A press statement signed by the Director General of the Public Affairs Directorate of the Ghana Police Service, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr David Eklu, confirmed the arrest.

It said Duah, who is the prime suspect in the Buduburam shooting incident that led to the death of the two policemen, was arrested in the early hours of August 31, 2019.