Another person suspected to be involved in the killing of Ekow Kwansah Hayford, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Mfantseman in the Central Region, has reportedly been arrested by the police.
It brings to six the number of all-male suspects rounded up by the police since the high-profile murder in the Central Region over a week ago.
The latest arrest reportedly took place in Kumasi on Saturday evening following a tip-off.
A police source who made the disclosure on the condition of anonymity refused to give further details, saying that any additional information could jeopardise their investigations.
Police Intensify Chase
He said the police, through intelligence, have gathered that more suspects are connected to the killing of the MP, and said they are determined to arrest all of them.
Hotel Swoop
The police source said the five suspects who were initially apprehended in connection with the killing of the lawmaker have been transferred to the Homicide Unit at the Police Headquarters in Accra to assist in investigations.
It turned out that the first suspect was tracked through the MP’s mobile phone and was arrested at a hotel in Kumasi before they swooped on the second suspect also in Kumasi.
The arrests of the two in Kumasi led to the picking up of other three suspects in different locations in the Central Region, where the murder was committed on Thursday, October 9 during the night.
The source said the sixth suspect was being sent to Accra to join the others to be interrogated further and later screened.
Meanwhile, information making rounds indicated that the police trailed one of the suspects who was in possession of the late MP’s mobile phone for close to three days.
The suspect periodically switched off the mobile phone in order to confuse his pursuers. But he was arrested eventually in a hotel room on Thursday night, exactly a week they committed the heinous crime, and the phone was then retrieved.
Read also: You Will Not Go Free For Killing An Hard Working MP – Akufo-Addo To MP’s Killer
This suspect was said to have supplied vital information to the police, which led to the arrest of a second suspect who was also said to be hiding in the Ashanti Region.
How MP Was Killed
The MP was gruesomely shot and killed by persons suspected to be armed robbers on the Abeadze-Dominase-Duadzi-Mankessim road on the night of Thursday, October 9 while returning from a campaign programme after filing his nomination to seek re-election on the same day.
Official Confirmation
On Friday, the Ghana Police Service confirmed the arrests of the first five suspects on Facebook, saying, “Five persons have been arrested in connection with the murder of the MP for Mfantseman Constituency, Hon. Ekow Quansah Hayford.”
The statement said, “They are being taken through lawful police process. Further updates will be given in due time.”
President’s Assurance
President Akufo-Addo, while visiting the bereaved family at Mankessim on Monday October 12, had said that “I have told the IGP that if I don’t see anything in this case what will happen,” he assured the family during the visit, adding, “Those who perpetrated the act will surely face the law and will never go scot-free.”
“What has happened has affected me. I know his death is irreplaceable but I assure you that whatever we can do help, we shall do it.”
Source: Daily Guide
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