JB killer gives blow-by-blow account

The self-confessed killer of JB Danquah-Adu, Abuakwa North MP, Daniel Asiedu aka Sexy Don Don, who claims to be a native of Larteh in the Eastern Region, allegedly told the police in a thump-printed statement that those who recruited him told him that a politician was paying him and others to eliminate the MP.

The suspect, who was remanded by a magistrate court on Tuesday, according to his initial statement to the police, claimed that he was contracted to carry out the dirty operation at a fee of GH¢2,000, only to change his statement later that it was a lone operation with the aim of robbing the MP – which led to JB Danquah-Adu’s death at his Shiashie, East Legon residence in Accra.

The suspect, after the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) took over the case, was reported to have changed the original statement he gave the police, saying that he went to the MP’s house with the sole purpose of stealing from him.

He said a scuffle ensued as he entered JB Danquah-Adu’s room, making him stab the MP three times.

Daniel Asiedu claimed that he entered the home armed with a knife, a catapult and a cutter.

According to him, his intention was not to kill the MP, but he stabbed him in the chest, his ribs and inflicted a fatal wound on his neck when the scuffle ensued.

The accused has been remanded in police custody until March, 1, 2016.

A source in the intelligence community, who expressed surprise at the sudden U-turn of the suspect, said Daniel told the police that he was at Zongo Junction at Madina on February 8, 2016 where he deals in second-hand mobile phones when he was approached by two of his friends – a certain Avenger and Junior Agogo.

The two friends, he said, told him that they had a job for him to execute at a fee of GH¢2,000 but even though he was not told the nature of the assignment, he claimed he knew it was about stealing.

Sexy Don Don told the police that he was a student, 20-year-old, and lives in an unmarked house in Accra.

On the following day, Tuesday, February 9, 2016, he said his friends came to pick him in a taxi at Zongo Junction for the operation at Shiashie.

Upon reaching Shiashie he said they alighted at a house with flowers planted in front of it. One of the friends then called the security man and told him that they had come, he alleged.

On their way to Shiashie, he recalled overhearing one of the friends talking to someone on the mobile phone but he could not tell whom he was speaking to.

Security Man

When the security man was alerted about their arrival, he allegedly proceeded to open the gate and when they entered, Asiedu added that he went to the back of the house and brought along a ladder which he placed against the wall.

One of the friends, he said, climbed first followed by another and after waiting for some time, he followed them to the top via the ladder and gained access into the bedroom of the late MP through the window.

Now in the bedroom, he said the leader of the gang secured the MP’s mobile phones as he (MP) was asleep on his bed and handed them over to him (Daniel Asiedu).

Continuing, he said that he went downstairs using the staircase after receiving the mobile phones.

While downstairs, he said he saw the security man place a chair close to the polytank; he said he stood on the chair and climbed the polytank and jumped over the wall – a procedure he said his colleagues used to flee the scene.

One of his friends, he said, gave him a catapult which he was holding for a while as his accomplice held a knife.

Daniel said he dropped the catapult in the house afterwards, explaining that he did not use it at all. Also left in the house were his slippers, adding that it was the knife which his friend used in stabbing the late MP.

Knock Off

This segment of his first narration appears to have knocked off the general notion that it was he (Daniel) who stabbed JB Danquah to death.

He is suggesting that it was his friend – the one who gave him the catapult – who stabbed the late MP because as he held on to it, his accomplice had in his possession the knife which he used to stab the late MP.

Shoes

Daniel said that the amount of GHC2, 000 was paid to him before they set off for the operation, which he described as a ‘stealing mission.’

According to him, he had never met the man they went to rob, asserting that he used the money paid him to buy some clothing and shoes, having spent the balance on other things.

Alteration

At this stage of his narration, he made an alteration when he said they did not use the staircase to descend but rather through another room from where they jumped down.

He said they took their turns to stand on the chair provided by the security man to reach the top of the polytank, from where they scaled a wall and jumped into another house.

He said that of the three mobile phones belonging to the late MP and which were given to him by the accomplice who did the stabbing, he returned the Samsung but sold two which he claimed had been retrieved.

He told the police that he knows the houses of both accomplices who, according to him, live at Madina, Accra.

Origin Of Money

Daniel said when he asked his accomplices about the source of the money they gave him, he was told that it was a certain politician who provided it, adding that he thought the mission was about stealing.

Pregnant Wife

Daniel’s four months pregnant wife, however, had another story to tell as her narration indicated she told the police that when her husband returned at dawn he had bloodstains on his dress. She is helping with the investigations into the case. According to information, her husband was released from jail after conviction for a misdemeanour.

The Greater Accra Regional police have declined to authenticate this narration.

Confusing

However, a criminologist, Prof Ken Attafuah, has described as disturbing, inconsistencies surrounding the death of Joseph Boakye Danquah-Adu.

According to him, the suspect, when apprehended days after committing the crime, alleged that he was contracted to kill the MP for an amount of GH¢2,000 but changed his story when he appeared in court.

“Issues surrounding the death of JB Danquah are very confusing. The suspect upon arrest said he was contracted and now he is saying that he actually went there to steal and not to kill. I find it hard to believe all that and so it is important for the police to do their work well and not allow any interference,” he stated.

Prof Attafuah, who reserved comment on the possibility of the suspect speaking under duress, urged the police to be thorough in their investigations and allow the truth to prevail.

In the view of Prof Attafuah, the narrative surrounding the killing points to a well-planned and executed crime.