Ambrose Dery, the Minister of the Interior, on Wednesday said the two suspects who are in police custody at Asawase in the Ashanti Region – who were shot in an attempt to escape – had been robbing and terrorizing residents of Kumasi.
According to him, the suspects were shot dead when they attempted to jump bail, as the police were conducting a search at one of their hideouts to retrieve weapons.
Mr Dery made the assertion when he appeared before parliament to brief members of the house on the matter.
The shooting and killing of the two suspects sparked chaos in the area, prompting the Speaker of Parliament to summon the interior minister to the house.
Muntaka Mubarak, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Asawase, had raised the matter and requested that the minister be made to appear before the house to speak to the matter.
Awudu Osman aka Awudu Ninja, was shot and killed by the police with his alleged accomplice, Lukeman Mohammed aka Alfa.
Final funeral rites had been held for both suspects according to Islamic tradition.
Relatives of Osman have intensified their call for justice for the deceased after they had given the government and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) a three-day ultimatum to investigate the death.
Mr Dery said police information indicated that victims of recent robberies identified the two in a parade conducted in Kumasi.
He said records available to the police showed that Lukeman Mohammed had been on the regional police wanted list since June 16, 2016, for his involvement in robbery that occurred at Bakery at Gyedi-Kenyasi, where he and his partners-in-crime shot a worker, Aba Kyere, 35, in the left arm and took away a pump action gun and an amount of GHȼ13,500.
He said two of Mohammed’s accomplices – Farouk and Saliu – are currently in prison custody. Two other accomplices in the said robbery incident are at large.
Mr Dery further stated that investigations into the matter are ongoing to ascertain the full facts.
He stressed that the fight against crime would be pursued with due regard to the fundamental human rights of suspects.
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