Team manager and coach murdered

THE Upper West Regional Police Command has mounted search for a group of people suspected to have murdered the team manager and coach of a Wa-based colts football team, A/C Milan F/C.

The body of Mr. Hamid Musah, 37, was found in a state of decomposition near Nusrat Janan Training College at Wa by some female students of the college.

The team manager who is also a livestock dealer had left the house at Sawaba, a suburb of Wa, on March 4, at 7.30 p.m., for Yibeh village to buy goats and sheep but never returned.

Superintendent U.T.O Terkpertey regional crime officer, said on March 6, authorities of the college reported to the Wa police that some female students of the college who went to a nearby bush to study came across a dead man lying in the bush.

The regional crime officer said when the police went to the crime scene they found a pair of pliers and an okapi knife lying by the dead man.

He said multiple injuries were also found around the neck as well as the head and the police suspected foul play. He therefore appealed to the general public to volunteer information that could lead to the arrest of the criminals. He ruled out robbery as the motive of the perpetrators of the crime since his wristwatch was left intact.

The crime officer said the victim’s motor-bike which was parked on the Yibeli feeder road was also not taken away. He also appealed to communities in the region to desist from instant justice by reporting suspected criminals to the police instead of killing them since it will not help the police in their investigations.

In another development, a group of armed gangsters suspected to be members of Weija youth last Saturday stormed Oblogo, near Accra, and attacked players and club officials of Nikwabs Babies F/C, a juvenile soccer team and succeeded in inflicting gun-shot and cutlass wounds on a number of the juvenile players at their training grounds.

Master Ruben Donkor, aged 10 and Mustapha Mohammed, the team driver, who sustained serious gun-shot and cutlass wounds respectively have been admitted at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. Ten others have been treated and discharged.

The attacking group wielding cudgels, cutlasses, guns and knives also allegedly charged into the palace of Nii Kwaku Bibini III, chief of Oblogo who is also the chairman of the football club, and destroyed a number of his personal property including a BMW car as well as two buses belonging to the club.

Mr Richard Ayensu, coach of the club told GNA Sports that he was preparing to take the players to Kaneshie Sports Complex for a registration exercise when the group burst on them unawares at their training grounds firing at them and chasing them with deadly weapons.

“ We did not understand what was happening. Everybody started running for his dear life. But for the smartness of the boys who ran into the bush I can’t imagine what would have happened,” he said sobbing.

Mr. Ayensu said after the onslaught a Mitsubishi bus with the registration number GT 3440 R which brought the attackers drove off with them at a top speed and it was after this that “we came out from our hiding places and found Donkoh and Mohammed in critical situation and called for assistance to take them to hospital.”

The coach alleged that he identified Dan Sackey, Alhassan Dickson and Baba Kwanyako, all believed to be residents of Weija, as among the attackers.

He also alleged that the attackers took away 14 footballs, ?200,000 cedis meant for registration of the players and ?1.3 million belonging to Mustapha Mohammed.

Police at Weija have confirmed the incident saying three suspects have so far been picked up for questioning.