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Four officers of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) and two farmers in the Nadowli-Kaleo District are in police custody over the death of one Patrick Banoebuuri, a farmer in the Piree-Kaangu community in the area.
The Wa District Magistrate Court, presided over by His Worship Maxwell Maxibrian Titriku, remanded the six suspects into custody to assist the police in investigations into the circumstances that led to the victim’s death.
The suspects—Senior Inspector Adjei Boadi Philip, aged 36; Assistant Immigration Control Officer II (AICO) Abdulai Rawuf Abubakar, aged 22; AICO II Nkrumah Alex, aged 33; and AICO II Philip Oppong, aged 28—all GIS officers stationed at Nadowli, were charged with murder.
Suspects Pogee Antaa Julius, aged 38, a Unit Committee Chairman of the Noro Electoral Area and a farmer, and Logu Seidu, a 49-year-old relative of Patrick Banoebuuri, the deceased farmer based in Naro, were also charged with abetment of crime to wit, murder.
The facts of the case presented to the court on March 6, 2025, indicated that Patrick Banoebuuri, now deceased, allegedly stole 18 sheep and was arrested by members of the community. Out of the 18 sheep, 14 were later retrieved, and he was set free.
However, on March 7, 2025, Pogee Antaa Julius, the Unit Committee Chairman, and Logu Seidu led a group of people from Naro to the deceased’s house at Piree-Kaangu and apprehended him again for failing to produce the remaining four sheep.
He was then handed over to Senior Inspector Adjei Boadi Philip, AICO II Abdulai Rawuf Abubakar, AICO II Nkrumah Alex, and AICO II Philip Oppong, who were on duty at the Ghana Immigration Checkpoint at Naro, to be disciplined.
The court also heard that the officers received the deceased in good health and subjected him to a ‘frog jump’ punishment, during which he collapsed and died.
Upon being informed, the police proceeded to the scene and found the lifeless body of the deceased lying at the Immigration checkpoint at Naro, covered with tent fabric behind a zinc bathroom.
The body was inspected and conveyed to the Upper West Regional Hospital for preservation and autopsy.
The case has been adjourned to Monday, March 17, 2025.
Meanwhile, the Banoebuuri family has appealed to the Inspector General of Police and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that justice is served for their deceased relative, Patrick Banoebuuri.
Richard Banoebuuri, a brother of the deceased, has called on influential personalities in the country, especially in the Upper West Region, to desist from interfering in the case.