MP’s killing 'purposeful' – Attafuah

The killing of Abuakwa North MP JB Danquah Adu was purposeful assassination, criminologist Prof Ken Attefuah has said.

“This is not accidental killing, this is not some reckless killing or killing resulting from some reckless conduct, this is purposive, this fine gentleman was deliberately targeted by the killer or killers,” Prof Attafuah told Ekow Mensah-Shalders on Class91.3fm’s Executive Breakfast Show on Tuesday February 9, 2016.

Mr Danquah Adu was murdered Tuesday dawn. He was found by the police lying in a pool of blood in his bedroom at his Shiashie residence in the national capital, Accra. His assailant (s) got access to him through his front window via a ladder. He was survived by his wife and two children. The Police have opened investigations into the killing. Five suspects: two females and three males have been arrested for interrogation by the Police, who have urged the public to provide any information they may have that could help unravel the murder mystery.

As far as Prof Attafuah is concerned, the narrative surrounding the killing points to a well-planned and executed crime.

“They [murder suspects] went through considerable efforts to study [the late MP], you know, [they] did their surveillance, basically studied the environment, they did the necessary scanning, they did what you call in business school studies, a cost-benefit analysis, they did all the things that rational people do when they want to achieve legitimate goals…they looked also for the easiest way of penetrating,” Prof Attafuah said to back his guess that the murder was not accidental.

“…Now for all homes, you want to ensure that you have security, I understand that there [are] barbed wires over the house, you want to ensure that it is difficult for the criminal or would-be criminals to penetrate, so, you delay penetration by having stubborn or very strong security systems, but if they can find a way around it, and I hear of a ladder involved in this process, then it is easy; once you get inside the house, it is easy to break a louvre or break a glass or open a sliding window… this is a purposeful killing,” he insisted.

Prof Attafuah also said from the narrative, he does not think there is enough evidence to conclude that the late MP’s murder was contract killing.

“…Now I’m not so sure at this point [that] there is sufficient evidence for the conclusion, which I’m beginning to hear on some airwaves that this is a contract killing. There is no reason why a person, who wants to stab and kill, cannot undertake the task himself, or in this case, most likely himself, not herself. But it is also possible that this is a job done by a hired assassin, who is paid to do that, or who relishes in getting rid of somebody whom he deems a personal bona fide enemy. In either case, we are faced with a very sad situation…” Prof Attafuah added.