Police finally opening up on officer's involvement in law student's death

The Ghana Police Service has identified and interdicted General Corporal Robert Koranteng in connection with the death of 23-year-old law student Ivan Baidoo on the Tema Motorway, after the motorbike on which he was travelling was allegedly chased and struck from behind, causing a crash that left him with broken ribs, head injuries, among others. His parents traced his body to the Tema General Hospital after being informed of his death when his mother tried to reach him because he had failed to return home in time for dinner. Ivan, a second-year law student at Central University, died following an accident involving a YANGO-operated motorbike on the Tema Motorway on Thursday, August 27, 2026, at about 4 p.m., according to a petition submitted by his family to the Ghana Police Service. The family has alleged that the Airport Police attempted to shield General Corporal Koranteng from responsibility by instead charging the motorbike rider with reckless driving and putting him before the Kaneshie District Court. According to Ivan’s father, the charge was later changed to murder. Ghana Police keeps 12-year-old minor in custody for driving articulated truck The interdiction follows preliminary investigations launched after a video relating to the incident went viral on social media. It is, however, unclear why only General Corporal Koranteng was interdicted by his superiors, although he was allegedly in the company of another police officer. The petition said Ivan had ordered a ride from YANGO and boarded a motorbike with registration number M 26-AB 384 from Old Ashongman to East Legon. According to the petition, the rider, identified as Samuel Arthur Wesley, told investigators at the Airport Police Station that a police patrol officer riding another motorbike had chased him from the UPSA-Legon junction towards the Tema Motorway. The rider allegedly told investigators that the patrol officer caught up with them and “hit them from the back of the motorbike”, causing him and Ivan to fall to the ground. In a statement issued on Saturday, September 12, the Ghana Police Service said General Corporal Koranteng had been identified as connected to the incident and had therefore been removed from active duty pending the outcome of the investigation. The Police said the Homicide Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) was intensifying efforts to establish the circumstances surrounding Ivan Baidoo’s death. It added that the Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSB) had also been tasked with investigating the conduct of General Corporal Koranteng in relation to the incident. The two investigations are expected to establish the circumstances surrounding Ivan’s death and determine whether the officer’s conduct complied with the professional standards and regulations of the Ghana Police Service. Ahead of the interdiction, Evans Baidoo, the father of Ivan Apprey Baidoo, recounted events that allegedly led to his son’s death in a motorcycle crash on the Accra-Tema Motorway. Speaking to Umaru Sanda Amadu on Citi Eyewitness News, Baidoo said his son left home on August 27, 2026, to play football with friends at East Legon. He said that by 6 p.m., Ivan had not returned home, prompting his mother to call his phone. The call was answered by a stranger who informed the family that the young man had been involved in an accident and had died. According to Baidoo, the caller initially identified himself as an eyewitness but later claimed to be a police officer who had been following the motorcycle on which his son was travelling. He said the family asked the caller to deposit Ivan’s phone at the nearest police station so that they could retrieve it, but the request was refused. The family subsequently contacted the Tema General Hospital to verify the information and was informed that Ivan’s body had been brought to the facility. Baidoo said he went to the hospital the following morning, where he found his son’s lifeless body on a stretcher, still wearing the Barcelona jersey, khaki trousers and socks he had left home in. He said the hospital presented the family with a coroner’s request form bearing his son’s name but could not explain how his identity had been established or who had brought him to the hospital. The family was subsequently directed to the Tema Community 1 Police Station, where Baidoo said they were informed that the motorcycle rider had survived the crash. He said information contained in the coroner’s request form, which he understood was based on the rider’s account, indicated that the motorcycle had allegedly been pursued by a police officer riding another motorcycle. According to that account, the alleged police officer pulled out a pistol while pursuing the motorcycle and later struck its rear near the motorway toll booth area, causing it to crash. Baidoo said his son died from injuries sustained in the crash, while the rider survived with minor injuries. He said the rider later told the family that, following the crash, a Good Samaritan who came upon the scene transported both men to the Tema General Hospital. The family subsequently followed up at the Airport Police Station after officers at the Tema Community 1 Police Station told them that the accident did not occur within their jurisdiction. Baidoo said family members and their lawyers met an investigator, Inspector Dansoa, at the Airport Police Station, where they were informed that the rider had been taken into custody. According to him, the rider had sustained minor injuries and had been given police medical forms to seek treatment. He said investigators told the family that the rider’s statement would be taken after his treatment, after which he would be taken to the accident scene to assist investigators in identifying the exact location of the crash. The rider was also expected to assist investigators in identifying possible eyewitnesses to the incident. However, Baidoo said the rider’s statement had still not been taken more than 24 hours after the accident. He said that when the family returned to the police station on Monday, investigators indicated that CCTV footage would be made available to help establish what had happened. Baidoo, however, said subsequent attempts by the family and its lawyers to obtain updates on the investigation yielded little progress. He alleged that the investigator repeatedly gave different reasons for the delays, including the fact that the rider had not yet been taken to the accident scene. “I mean, they have been lousy and lackadaisical. We are talking about life here,” he said. The investigation later took another turn when the motorcycle rider was presented before the Kaneshie District Court. Baidoo said the rider was initially charged with careless driving and negligently causing harm and was granted bail. He said the rider was subsequently re-arrested and charged with murder. Baidoo also raised concerns about information presented by the Police concerning the post-mortem examination of his son in court. According to him, the police prosecutor told the court that the pathologist who conducted the post-mortem examination had not indicated that Ivan died as a result of an accident. He said the claim surprised the family and raised further questions about the Police’s account, particularly in light of the injuries recorded in the medical findings. “Every indication shows that my son did not die of what they were trying to attribute. He died in an accident. And if you look at the pathologist’s report and the coroner request form and what came out, everything shows that it could have been a severe fall. By the report, he broke some ribs, a number of injuries to the head, internal bleeding, head injuries,” he said. Baidoo said the Police relied on the alleged absence of a finding linking the death to an accident in seeking to have the rider kept in custody for another two weeks. He said the judge, however, declined the request. The father maintained that the medical findings available to the family pointed to severe trauma and questioned why investigators had not established the identity of the police officer allegedly involved in the incident. He also raised concerns about the whereabouts of his son’s phone and the identity of the person who contacted the family on the night of the incident. According to Baidoo, the motorcycle rider also had the contact details of the Good Samaritan who allegedly transported the two victims to the hospital, but the Police declined to provide the number to the family’s lawyers. Baidoo said the family’s concerns about the handling of the case had prompted him to petition the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for a full-scale investigation.Source: theheraldghana.com
« Previous | Next »