MURDER IN COLD BLOOD ...PNC's candidate ambushed & shot (LEAD STORY)

STORY: Zakaria Alhassan in Tamale & Lucy Adoma Yeboah in Accra

THE People’s National Convention (PNC) parliamentary candidate in the Nalerigu Constituency in the 2008 elections, Mr Moses Alando Banaba, has been killed by an unknown gunman at Nalerigu in the Northern Region.
The deceased, who worked at the Nalerigu Baptist Medical Centre in the East Mamprusi District as a pharmacist, was allegedly ambushed and shot in the thigh when he was on his way home after work on Thursday evening.
The body of the deceased, who is a Kusasi, has been deposited at the morgue at the Nalerigu Baptist Medical Centre.
No arrests have been made in connection with the incident.
However, the Northern Regional Police Command is on the heels of two suspects. While the name of one of the suspects is yet to be known, the police mentioned one Salifu Zongo Naaba as the other suspect.
According to the Northern Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Mr A. Awuni, Zongo Naaba, a Mamprusi, was spotted early yesterday at a lorry station at Nalerigu attempting to flee the town.
He said when the police attempted to arrest Naaba, a crowd went to his defence, thereby preventing the policemen from effecting the suspect’s arrest.
The suspect is believed to be working with Alhaji Yussif, aka Patience, a lotto agent in Bawku in the Upper East Region.
The commander, therefore, appealed to the Paramount Chief of the area, the Nayiri, Na Bohugu Mahami Abdulai Sheriga, to prevail upon the people to produce the suspect to assist in investigations.
“Even though the motive for the shooting is yet to be ascertained, this incident is an indication that the feuding factions in Bawku now want to export the conflict to the Northern Region,” ACP Awuni indicated.
“We will not sit unconcerned and allow some few disgruntled persons to take the law into their own hands. We will deal drastically with such people when apprehended,” he warned.
He emphasised the readiness of the police to go after the sponsors of the internecine conflicts in the north and urged the people to report any suspicious characters in their respective communities to the police.
When contacted in Accra, the Leader of the PNC, Dr Edward Mahama, said he received a phone call about Mr Banaba’s murder from members of the deceased’s family around 10 p.m. on Thursday, November 12, 2009.
He expressed his deepest condolence to Mr Banaba’s family and friends and advised them to stay calm as the security agencies conducted investigations into the matter.
He also expressed confidence in the security agencies and appealed to them to do everything within their power to apprehend the culprits to ensure that justice prevailed.
Dr Mahama said the late Mr Banaba had been with the PNC since early 1992.
The late Mr Banaba, believed to be in his late 40s, was married with six children. His wife, who is said to be pursuing a course in Accra, left for home immediately the news got to her.