In a shocking turn of events, four officers of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) and two farmers from the Nadowli-Kaleo District have been taken into police custody and remanded by the Wa District Magistrate Court for their alleged involvement in the murder of Patrick Banoebuuri, a farmer from the Piree-Kaangu community.
The accused immigration officers, Senior Inspector Adjei Boadi Philip, Assistant Immigration Control Officer II, Abdulai Rawuf Abubakar, AICO II Nkrumah Alex, and AICO II Philip Oppong, were stationed at the Nadowli Immigration post.
They face murder charges for their role in the tragic death of Banoebuuri. Additionally, Pogee Antaa Julius, a Unit Committee Chairman of the Noro Electoral Area, and Logu Seidu, a relative of the deceased, have been charged with abetment of crime to wit murder.
According to court records, the events leading to Banoebuuri’s death began on March 6, 2025, when he was accused of stealing 18 sheep.
Community members apprehended him but later released him after recovering 14 of the stolen animals.
However, on March 7, Julius and Seidu, dissatisfied with the unresolved theft, led a group to Banoebuuri’s home, where they forcibly took him into custody and handed him over to the immigration officers at the Ghana Immigration checkpoint in Naro.
The court heard that the immigration officers subjected Banoebuuri to a rigorous physical drill, commonly known as a “frog jump,” during which he collapsed and died.
Police responding to the incident found Banoebuuri’s lifeless body concealed under a tent fabric behind a zinc-enclosed bathroom at the checkpoint.
The remains were transported to the Upper West Regional Hospital for preservation and an autopsy.
The case has been adjourned to Monday, March 17, 2025, as investigations proceed.
Meanwhile, the family of the deceased has called on the Inspector General of Police and relevant authorities to ensure justice is served.
Richard Banoebuuri, a brother of the deceased, urged influential figures to refrain from interfering with the case and allow due process to take its course.
-BY Daniel Bampoe
