A 26-year-old illegal miner, Mr Abu Iddi, was shot dead Tuesday by suspected armed robbers at a gallemsey community in the Bole district of the northern region, authorities said. Police said he was returning from Gue, a well known illegal mining enclave on a motor bike when he was gunned down on the Tinga-Gue road.
According to police, the deceased was ambushed together with a pillow rider, Mr Mohammed Abdul Wahab by four unknown armed men in the middle of the road. Mr Iddi, the police said, was killed on the spot, but the pillow rider sustained injuries and was rushed to the Bole government hospital where he is currently receiving treatment.
The deceased who left behind a widow and two children has since been buried in accordance with Islamic region.
Narrating the incident to Zaa News, the Bole Police Commander, ASP David Agbatse Azumah said, the suspected armed robbers bolted before police arrived at the scene. No arrest has been made yet, the ASP added. The robbers, ASP Agbatse, said move swiftly from a crime scene to avoid arrest thus making it very difficult for police to track them down.
Some residents who spoke to Zaa News expressed worry about the persistent attacks of unknown gun men and want police to intensify their visibility and patrol in the area.
But ASP Azumah, in response said the attacks are not frequent as the residents are claiming. He assured residents of police commitment to work together with community to get rid of the criminals in the area.
“We are conducting investigations to get the perpetrators and we are also relying on informants to fish them out,” ASP Azumah said.
A close friend of the deceased, Mr Dramani Alhassan, expressed shock at his friend’s death and appealed to police to help arrest the perpetrators. “He was a gallemsey boy who always worked at Tinga and returned to Gue,” Dramani said.
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