Suspects involved in Sogakope assemblyman’s murder remanded

Five persons, including the alleged ringleader of the murder of the Sogakope South assembly member in the Volta Region, have been remanded in prison custody.

According to the police in a release signed by the deputy superintendent of police, Ms Juliana Obeng, the five include a 34-year-old Vincent Adjei, who is believed to be the ringleader in the murder.

The four other persons are 33-year-old Bright Awuya;  22-year-old Franklin Tetteh; 26-year-old Ansong Steven; and 25-year-old Amos Agbaklah.

The Assemblymember, Marcus Mawutor Adzahli, was allegedly murdered by unknown persons at his residence in Sogakope in the early hours of Sunday, March 1, 2020.

The assailants, numbering about eight, reportedly stormed the victim’s house wielding guns and cement blocks amidst sporadic shooting.

A resident of Sogakope, Yao Amekor, told Citi News that the shooting scared neighbours of the deceased and onlookers.

Mr. Adzahli sustained gunshot and stab wounds in the attack while the deceased’s wife also sustained gunshot wounds.

The police, in a statement said the suspects were arrested from different locations across the country.

All suspects were put before the Dabala District Court but were remanded by the court to reappear on 26th May, 2020.

The Police in a statement on Thursday, April 23, 2020 urged the public to continue to volunteer relevant information to enable it to investigate the crime.

“The Police is by this means imploring the public to continue to volunteer accurate and timely information to assist in the investigation of this crime. The numbers to call are 191, 1855 and 0244222335,” the police said.

The incident has generated anger among members of the community who accused the police of failing to respond swiftly to distress calls by the deceased and his family when they noticed that the assailants were attempting to break into their room.

The residents, after temporarily blocking the Accra-Aflao road to protest the police’s inaction on Sunday, went on a rampage last Monday, blocking the road again amidst burning of vehicle tyres.

They also pelted stones at the police station, destroying a police vehicle and other police property.

It took the intervention of joint police and military team to disperse the rampaging youth and restore calm to the area, although three residents were left injured after being hit with live bullets.