Nadowli-Kaleo: 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 at the Piree-Kaangu community in the area.
According to Ghana News Agency, the Wa District Magistrate Court, presided over by His Worship Maxwell Maxibrian Titriku, has remanded the six suspects into custody to assist the police in their investigations into the circumstances surrounding the death of the victim. 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 stationed at Nadowli, have been charged with murder.
Additionally, Pogee Antaa Julius, a 38-year-old Unit Committee Chairman of Noro Electoral Area and a farmer, along with Logu Seidu, a 49-year-old relative of the deceased farmer from Naro, have been charged with abetment of crime to wit murder. The facts presented in court on March 6, 2025, indicate that Patrick Banoebuuri allegedly stole 18 sheep, of which 14 were retrieved, leading to his initial release by the community.
On March 7, 2025, Pogee Antaa Julius and Logu Seidu apprehended Patrick Banoebuuri again for failing to produce the remaining four sheep and handed him over to the GIS officers on duty at the Naro checkpoint for discipline. It was revealed in court that the GIS officers received Banoebuuri in good health and subjected him to 'frog jump' exercises, during which he died.
The police found the deceased's body at the Immigration checkpoint at Naro, covered with tent fabric behind a zinc bathroom. The body was then transferred to the Upper West Regional Hospital for preservation and autopsy, with the case adjourned to March 17, 2025.
Meanwhile, the Banoebuuri family has appealed to the Inspector General of Police and relevant stakeholders to ensure justice for Patrick Banoebuuri. Richard Banoebuuir, the deceased's brother, has urged influential figures, particularly in the Upper West Region, to refrain from interfering in the case.