FULL TEXT: Police on preliminary investigations of Capt. Mahama’s death

The Director-General of the Criminal Investigative Department (CID), DCOP Bright Oduro has given a vivid account of how Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama, a military commander was lynched with parts of his body burnt by some residents of Denkyira-Obuasi in the Upper West Denkyira.

Ghana was stunned by the gruesome murder of Captain Mahama of the 5 Battalion of Infantry who according to Defense Minister, Dominic Nitiwul, was due for promotion to the rank of a Major.

The attack has been roundly condemned by Ghanaians especially after videos in circulation on various social media platforms reveal how the soldier was killed by the locals.

Delivering a blow-by-blow account to the media on Friday, DCOP Bright Oduro said Captain Mahama, who was the Commander of a Military Detachment stationed at Diaso to check illegal mining activities, left the Detachment Base for jogging and stopped midway to buy snails. When he took money from his pocket to pay for the snails, the trader saw his pistol and later informed the assemblyman of Denkyira Obuasi of what she had seen.

According to the police, without verifying the identity of Captain Mahama, the assemblyman and armed townsfolk accosted the military officer, gave him a chase, shot at him, and eventually pounced on him using cement blocks, clubs, among others, until he died around 10am on Monday, two hours after he had started the jogging.

Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), David Asante Apeatu has given the assurance that his outfit will fully investigate and prosecute all those found culpable.

“Persons who violate the laws of the land in the manner akin to what has happened in the late Captain’s case, will be dealt with accordingly. The Police is prepared to collaborate with all stakeholders to ensure this canker of instant justice is permanently stamped out of our society.”

“We shall therefore stop at nothing to deal with perpetrators of this phenomenon. The Police administration wishes to pledge our full support to him to achieve this goal. For the purpose of protecting sanctity of evidence, we have decided not to parade the 16 suspects currently in our custody. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a war, not only for the security agencies but for all of us including members of the public," he said at the same function.