Ntow Adade Cudjoe
A 37-year-old illegal miner has been remanded into prison custody by the EKMA District Magistrate Court in the Western Region after being charged with the murder of a 17-year-old girl at Agona Nkwanta in the Ahanta West Municipality.
The accused, Ntow Adade Cudjoe, popularly known as “Adade Zee,” is alleged to have sexually assaulted his wife’s niece before subjecting her to a brutal attack that resulted in her death.
According to the prosecution, the deceased, Olivia Kwofie, had been living with the accused and his wife at Agona Nkwanta for about four months.
Presenting the facts before the court, Prosecutor, Inspector Robert Yawson, said the incident occurred on the night of May 31, 2026.
The accused allegedly informed his wife that he was travelling to a mining site at Nsuaem but secretly returned home later that night and waited near their residence.
The prosecution said Olivia had attended a church service and was returning home in a tricycle, locally known as a “pragya,” when she was allegedly confronted by the accused. He is said to have assaulted her before dragging her into the house.
Inspector Yawson told the court that the accused allegedly restrained the teenager by tying her hands and legs and then sexually assaulted her.
“Inside the house, the accused tied the girl’s hands behind her back with a rope and bound her legs with a piece of cloth. He then used super glue to seal her mouth to prevent her from screaming before raping her,” the prosecutor narrated.
Inspector Yawson further alleged that after the incident, the accused took the victim to a nearby bush and inflicted severe injuries on her with a cement block before fleeing the area and going into hiding at Nsuaem.
Olivia was later discovered by farmers at about 4:30 a.m. the following day. The farmers reportedly untied her and alerted the police.
She was rushed to the Agona Nkwanta Polyclinic for treatment but was later pronounced dead by medical personnel.
Police investigations subsequently led to the arrest of the suspect at his hideout in Nsuaem on June 2, 2026.
He was formally charged with murder and arraigned before the court, which remanded him into prison custody to allow for further investigations.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi