Samuel Ampofo
Disturbing details have emerged about how the Mfantsiman Municipal Director of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) was murdered at Mankessim last Friday without any provocation.
On that fateful day, Samuel Ampofo appeared to have been targeted by the man who shot and killed him reportedly from a pump-action gun.
The shooter, after singling out the BNI officer for reasons undeterminable at this point, scaled a wall to get closer to his target even as the procession progressed.
The suspect behind the shooting was almost stalking his target, according to DAILY GUIDE sources.
The suspect locked on the target and after pulling the trigger of what bore the traits of a pump-action gun, he got his hit.
The lone shot did not satisfy him as he fired a second shot at the director’s head, killing him instantly. It was as though the killer had an axe to grind with the BNI director.
There was panic at this stage, especially after the firing from the nearby storey building; one of the shots sent pellets into the body of the CID inspector and also killed a student who is yet to be named.
An eyewitness, Frederick Amonoo Dadzie, who was also hit in the arm, saw the action and could visualize the faces of the shooters although he said “I cannot know their names. They came to Mankessim from elsewhere.”
Tension
The aftermath of Mankessim is characterized by tensed atmosphere with security personnel uniformed and plain-clothed patrolling the area.
Background
The Cape Coast High Court order which nullified the enstoolment of the occupant of the Mankessim stool and the substantive queen mother Nana Ama Amisah and the subsequent green light to Nana Araba Otuah II to take her place was characterized by the traditional procession on the streets of Mankessim.
Some killjoys seeking to mar the process and merriment which followed engaged killers who took cover from a nearby storey building from where they fired shots into the excited crowd.
The BNI officer was particularly targeted by a lone shooter who stalked him and eventually shot at him.
The spent cartridges were the main telltale evidence picked by police officers who stormed the storey building from where the shooters fired.
Also taken away were five persons suspected to have been behind the firing.
Of interest to the investigators is a certain Nana Oboso, who surviving victims think was behind the shooting.
Being held in detention as investigations continue are Kwame Adu, Kwame Buako, Kofi Ababio, Yaw Opoku and Kofi Abban Dadzie.
The fate of Detective Inspector William Nyarko of the Mankessim Station CID was unknown at the time of filing this report. He was rushed to the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital from the Catholic Women Hospital at Mankessim after some pellets from the pump-action gun fired at the scene were lodged in his body.
Many others who sustained minor injuries were treated and discharged.
By A.R. Gomda