The mortal remains of Lawrence Joe Baidoo being carried by the GSTS cadet corp
The mortal remains of Lawrence Joe Baidoo, a final year student of Ghana Secondary Technical School (GSTS) in Takoradi, who was allegedly shot and killed by a police officer at Nyankrom in the Shama Distinct, was laid to rest last Saturday after a burial service held in Shama.
Relations of the deceased could not hold back their tears as they were joined by well-wishers to bid farewell to their son.
His classmates were inconsolable as they wept bitterly when the casket was taken from the service ground by members of the school cadet corps onto a waiting hearse to his final resting place.
Even those who mustered courage and attempted not to weep eventually broke down emotionally and ended up weeping uncontrollably.
According to reports, the GSTS student and his four friends were on their way to a street jam at Shama Junction prior to Christmas last year when the incident happened.
The lifeless body of Lawrence Baidoo was conveyed to the Effia Nkwanta Hospital in Sekondi, while two other friends who sustained injuries were transported to a hospital at Inchaban for treatment.
The police officer, Adjei Shaibu, has subsequently been hauled before the court for allegedly shooting and killing the student.
At the last court hearing on January 30, 2018, prosecution said it needed time to complete the investigations.
The prosecutor, Inspector Paa Arhinsan, pleaded with the court to remand the policeman into police custody.
He told the court, presided over by Thomas Wofade, that investigations into the case had reached an advanced stage.
He mentioned that the investigators would have to finally gather evidence with respect to the matter, including the pathology report.
The judge, therefore, remanded the accused into custody and adjourned the case to today to enable the prosecution to complete investigation.
That was the third time the suspect was remanded into police custody.
Stationed at the Inchaban Police Station, Adjei Shaibu was believed to have shot the student at about 8:30 pm on Friday, December 22, 2017.
According to reports, the student and his four friends were on their way to a street jam at Shama Junction when the incident happened.
The accused person who was riding a motorbike allegedly mistook them for thieves and purportedly opened fire on them.
“The young guys were on their way to a street jam being organised by some youth from the area around 8:00pm on Friday, December 22. The cop, upon seeing the boys, shouted thieves and shot at them,” a resident alleged.
The lifeless body of Lawrence Baidoo was conveyed to the Effia-Nkwanta Hospital morgue in Sekondi, while two other friends who sustained injuries were transported to a hospital at Inchaban for treatment.
Meanwhile, the counsel for the accused, Edmund Acquaah Hene, has indicated that the prosecution must have enough evidence to prove its case.
He pointed out that “the Ghana Police has what it takes to investigate the case with speed and called on the law enforcement agency to round up its investigations so the docket could be sent to the Attorney General’s Office for advice.”
Edmund Acquaah Hene appealed to the people to allow the procedure to be followed and stop pressurising the court to jail the accused.
He debunked an assertion that since the accused person is a policeman, he could interfere with the gathering of evidence.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi