Another case of suspected ritual murder was recorded in Accra yesterday when a man believed to be between 35 and 40 years old lay dead with some of his vital organs, including the tongue, missing.

The gory scene at Abossey Okai in the Ablekuma Sub-Metro in Accra raised the number of persons killed for suspected ritual purposes to four in the past five weeks or so.

Similar incidents had been recorded at Abossey Okai, Agege, and Town Council Line, all in the Ablekuma Sub-Metro.

The deceased, said to be a cocoa drink seller, was found dead early yesterday morning at his usual place of retiring each night when he is done with business.

The ritual murders appear to be following a similar pattern, as the first one to hit town was at Dansoman Agege where the tongue of a murdered man was also removed.

When DAILY GUIDE visited the crime scene yesterday in front of the Mega Web Internet Café near Joeregi Hotel, the deceased’s body was in a prostrate position on a mat, with anxious residents and onlookers besieging the place.

The remains were in a pool of blood, with tell-tale signs that the deceased could have been hit with a heavy object by his assailants.

Even though the exact time of the murder is not yet known, residents suspected that it happened late in the night.

According to Amina Abubakar, a ‘banku’ seller, the victim was her customer as he patronized her food regularly.

“Even though I do not know his name, he always came to my place to buy food”.

According to her, the victim was a cocoa drink seller who plied his trade during the day and retired to the front of the Mega Web Internet Café near Joeregi Hotel, Abossey Okai, at night.

Others claimed that the deceased had been using the place where his remains lay as his sleeping place for almost a year now.

They claimed he might have come from the Central Region since he spoke fluent Fanti.

According to them, the last time they saw him was on Friday around 10:30 pm when he was taking his bath outside the bar.

The Kaneshie Police who came to the scene around 9.00am could not convey the body until the commander, Chief Superintendent Michael Kportufe Avadetsi, came to the scene, due to the unusual circumstance of the deceased’s death.

The Kaneshie Divisional Commander, Chief Superintendent Avadetsi, told DAILY GUIDE at the scene that even though he suspected foul play, it was not clear to him if the tongue had really been removed.

He said the Kaneshie Police had invited the crime scene personnel from the CID Headquarters to the area to carry out a thorough check on the victim before conveying the body to the morgue, after which investigations would be carried out to ascertain the cause of death.

Earlier at Town Council Line, there was a similar murder followed by yet another one at Abossey Okai where the victim was beheaded and his tongue taken away.

As a result of the gory incidents, residents of Ablekuma Sub-Metro which encompasses part of Dansoman, Agege and others, now live in perpetual fear and uncertainty.

This latest bout of mystery murders has aggravated the apprehension of the residents, especially since it is beginning to dawn on them that the murders are ritualistic in nature, with the perpetrators ready to go the full hog to get the human parts they require.

Eyewitnesses have stated that tongues appear to be the favourites of the murderers as in all the cases, the organ was always missing from the cavity alongside others though.
Out of the four incidents, only one was beheaded.

Source: Daily Guide

Tags: accra, ritual murder