Ntankoful residents accuse police of killing a 25-year-old man

Residents of Ntankoful in the Takoradi metropolis in the Western Region are angry following the death of a 25-year-old suspected armed robber in police custody. The 25-year-old Emmanuel Baiden also known as Abu was arrested in March by the police for alleged robbery.

Following his arrest, no family member or friend knew which police station he was taken to, the residents alleged. They said it was only after his death that the police reported it.

Speaking to Takoradi-based Connect FM, the wife of the deceased said she was present when they arrested her husband. According to her the police who arrested him came in mufti and after questioning him for a time took him away while beating him.

“I was with my husband and kids when some people claiming to be police in mufti came around. They approached my husband and started asking him questions which he answered. They went back into their vehicle and suddenly came back to grab my husband and started beating him mercilessly,” she said as per a 3News report.

Adding, “He asked what crime he has committed and they said nothing. They took him to his house, broke into the room, and scattered everywhere. They started hitting him with their guns until he became weak and they took him to their vehicle and drove off. I did not hear anything again until today I’m hearing he is dead”. 

According to a family member, they[family] “…went to the Regional Police Command and the Deputy Commander, who identified himself as Dr. Chidi, told us that our relative was dead. We asked how he died and they said he was exchanging gunshots with the Police and died in the process. This is a person who was arrested unarmed and handcuffed so we don’t understand the whole story of the gun exchange with the police”.

Also, one of the residents who said he was in the police vehicle when they arrested Abu denied anyone ever exchanging gunshots with the police. He said the police beat them[he, another colleague and Abu] with rods and guns and that probably is what killed Abu.

“I was there when some officers came to arrest me,” Baba said, adding, “They took me to the Central Police Station and started beating me. One of my friends known as Ouattarra came to the police station and he was also arrested. They asked us if we knew Abu (deceased), we went with them in their vehicle and they arrested Abu as well.”

Contrary to the police claim of gunshots exchange, Baba said, “They transported us back to the police station and there was not any time in point when anyone exchanged gunshots with the police. They were beating us with rod and their guns and that is what might have killed Abu because they later separated us when in the cells. They only said we were armed robbers which is not true”.

“We were told the body had been deposited at the Police Hospital in Accra. With the assistance of the regional police commander, we were led to the Police Hospital in Accra on Thursday, April 6, 2023, where we were given the opportunity to identify the body. From what we saw as laypersons, there were no gunshot wounds. There is nowhere on the body that showed wounds from gunshots. It rather looked like he has been beaten to death. We were told he died about a week ago but the blood oozing from the head was so fresh. At least, if it had been more than a week or so, the blood shouldn’t be that fresh. We suspect foul play,”