<<Print>>

A POLICEMAN, Lance Corporal Ernest Asamoah, was shot dead in a hail of bullets in Accra, while another officer, General Sergeant Adunia Abass, was killed in Kumasi in the line of duty over the weekend. Lance Corporal Asamoah died in a shootout between police officers and a gang of armed robbers at Tuba near the Weija toll booth in Accra, barely a day after the burial of the police officer who was killed in a bank robbery attack at Tema Community 4, a week ago. Three other officers, Corporal Joseph Engman, Lance Corporal Samuel Owusu and Prince Okyere sustained various degrees of injury and are currently receiving treatment at the Police Hospital. The body of L/Corporal Asamoah has since been deposited at the morgue of the hospital awaiting autopsy. So far no arrests have been made. The policemen were members of a patrol team who had gone to the house of a suspected armed robber, Daud Tetteh alias Dada, to effect his arrest. The robber and his gang however opened fire on the police officers, killing L/Corporal Asamoah on the spot and injuring the three others. The acting Public Relations Officer of the Accra Regional Police Command, Corporal Bright Kwabena Danso said on Saturday, a team of policemen from the Weija District Police Command was attacked by the robbers at Tuba near Kasoa at about 1:30am. Police investigations showed that members of the patrol team were on their usual assignment when they had a tip-off concerning the hideout of a suspected armed robber, Daud Tetteh. However the robbery suspect had also had a tip-off and marshaled his gang members who ambushed the police. The robbers engaged the police in a shoot-out and fled. The police appealed to the public, especially medical centres, to be on the lookout for persons who might visit their facilities with gunshot wounds since they suspected the robbers had sustained injuries and might be seeking treatment. Cop Killed In Kumasi A policeman attached to the Striking Force Unit in Kumasi lost his life while on duty with three other colleagues at Sobolo near Oforikrom in Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital. The late General Sergeant Adunia Abass was trapped by a wire and crashed on his head heavily on the street, getting severely injured in the process whilst moving backwards to avoid being hit by a falling electric pole. He was immediately rushed to the hospital for medical attention and initially, he seemed to be responding positively to treatment only to give up the ghost on Saturday around 10:30am. The incident occurred on Friday when the four police personnel were providing security upon the request of the KMA which was demolishing an old toilet facility in the area for a new one to be built in its place. The Ashanti Regional Police Commander, DCOP Timbillah, who was shocked and sad over the sudden departure of General Sergeant Abass, said the death of the cop had come as a great blow to the entire Police Service, especially the Ashanti Regional Command. Narrating the sad incident, the Police Commander said the KMA requested the services of police officers to provide security to enable it to demolish an old toilet facility at Sobolo near Oforikrom. DCOP Timbillah explained further that the four police officers dispatched to the scene were not taking part in the demolishing exercise but rather they were just at the place to ward off intruders whilst the demolishing exercise was ongoing. He noted that whilst providing security, General Sergeant Abass realized that an electric pole which was being demolished was falling where he was standing. To avert being hit by the falling electric pole, he started moving backwards and in the course of doing so, his legs were trapped by a wire which was lying on the ground. Sergeant Abass, whilst struggling to free himself, accidentally fell, crashing his head heavily on the street and getting severely injured. He was immediately rushed to the hospital by his colleagues, but after responding to treatment the first day, his condition suddenly deteriorated, leading to his untimely death the following day. By Rocklyn Antonio & I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi