Four officers of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) and two farmers have been remanded into police custody over the alleged murder of Patrick Banoebuuri, a farmer from Piree-Kaangu in the Nadowli-Kaleo District.
The Wa District Magistrate Court, presided over by His Worship Maxwell Maxibrian Titriku, ordered the six suspects to remain in custody to assist police investigations into the circumstances surrounding Banoebuuri’s death.
The suspects include Senior Inspector Adjei Boadi Philip, 36; Assistant Immigration Control Officer II (AICO) Abdulai Rawuf Abubakar, 22; AICO II Nkrumah Alex, 33; and AICO II Philip Oppong, 28 – all stationed at the Nadowli GIS post. They have been charged with murder.
Also in custody are Pogee Antaa Julius, 38, a Unit Committee Chairman of Noro Electoral Area, and Logu Seidu, 49, a relative of the deceased. Both face charges of abetment of crime to wit murder.
According to the prosecution, on March 6, 2025, Banoebuuri was accused of stealing 18 sheep. After 14 of the animals were retrieved, he was released.
However, the following day, Pogee Antaa Julius and Logu Seidu allegedly led a group to Banoebuuri’s house and apprehended him again for failing to produce the remaining four sheep.
He was subsequently handed over to the four GIS officers at the Naro checkpoint.
The court was told that the officers subjected Banoebuuri to “frog jump” drills, during which he collapsed and died.
Police later found his lifeless body covered with a tent fabric behind a zinc bathroom at the checkpoint. The body was conveyed to the Upper West Regional Hospital for autopsy.
The case has been adjourned to Monday, March 17, 2025. Meanwhile, the Banoebuuri family has called on the Inspector General of Police and other relevant authorities to ensure justice is served.
Richard Banoebuuri, a brother of the deceased, has urged influential figures, especially in the Upper West Region, to refrain from interfering in the case.
The incident has sparked outrage, with many in the community demanding accountability for what they describe as an act of brutality.