Masked Volunteer Shot Dead By Police In Kumasi

A young man believed to be a member of the Neighborhood Watch Committee of Taabuom near Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, met his untimely death while discharging his duty in the wee hours of Wednesday. The deceased, identified as Richard Mensah aka �Abeiku,� was shot dead by the police patrol team that had received a distress call concerning a group of masked armed robbers on a robbery expedition. Abeiku and two other members of his group, Jenijeni Alhassan, 30 and Fofo Atobia, 57, were said to be wearing masks, possessing offensive weapons and standing in the middle of the road when the police arrived. The trio allegedly attempted to flee the scene when they sighted the armed policemen. The police at that moment suspected that they were robbers so opened fire on them and Abeiku was hit with a bullet. The body of the deceased has since been deposited at the morgue awaiting autopsy, as the police are still keeping Alhassan and Atobia, whose real identities the police are still investigating. The police seized offensive items including machetes, catapults, fire crackers and a flashlight, on the apprehended men. Giving his side of the story to the police, Nana Kotei Manu, Abusupanin and caretaker chief of Taabuom, said the three men were not armed robbers, stressing they were part of a group of volunteers who protect the area at right. He said the weapons that were found on the three men were purchased by the community which decided to form the neighborhood watch committee, to check the spate of robberies in the area. Nana Manu admitted that though the police had been informed about plans by the community to form the committee, they had not exhausted all the procedures required for the formation of the volunteer group. He said due to the high rate of robbery and other forms of crime in the area, the opinion leaders decided to give the volunteer group the green light to start operating last week, whilst they worked on other documentations with the police. Meanwhile, ASP Yusif Tanko, the Ashanti Regional Police PRO, in a statement, said it was a passenger and driver of a taxi who informed the police about the presence of robbers operating in the area. He said immediately the suspects saw the police they took to their heels and this strange action, forced the police to open fire on them, shooting Abeiku in the process.