MURDER SUSPECT GRABBED (SPREAD, NOV 17)

THE prime suspect in connection with the murder of the People’s National Convention (PNC) parliamentary candidate for the Nalerigu Constituency in the 2008 general election is in police grips.
The suspect, Salifu Tia, aka Salifu Zongo Naaba, a 31-year-old farmer and native of Nalerigu in the East Mamprusi District, was arrested at the weekend at his hideout at Gulugu in the Gushiegu District of the Northern Region.
A locally manufactured pistol and a military belt were among the items retrieved from him.
He is currently in police custody awaiting prosecution.
Also in police custody are seven suspects who were apprehended at Nasia on the Tamale-Bolga road. Their names were not disclosed for security reasons.
They are at the moment assisting the police in their investigations into the murder of Mr Moses Alando Banaba last Thursday evening when he was on his way home from work at the Baptist Medical Centre at Nalerigu where he worked as a pharmacist.
The remains of the deceased, who was allegedly shot in the thigh with an AK 47 rifle, have since been deposited at the morgue of the Tamale Teaching Hospital for autopsy.
At a press conference in Tamale yesterday, the Northern Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Angwubutoge Awuni, said Naaba was apprehended through the assistance of the chief and some Good Samaritans of Gulugu after a tip-off.
He said the police had earlier been prevented by a crowd from effecting Naaba’s arrest at Nalerigu where he had been spotted at a lorry station attempting to flee the area.
They had again been denied the opportunity to apprehend him by residents of two other communities in the East Mamprusi District until he was gripped at Gulugu.
“We are treating this case purely as a criminal one and will surely get to the bottom of this matter,” Mr Awuni indicated.
While the commander could not immediately explain the motive for the murder, he said, “We suspect that the feuding factions in Bawku are importing the conflict to the Northern Region.”
He expressed the readiness of the police to deal with any eventuality but appealed to the chiefs and people of the area to assist the police in their work by co-operating fully in investigations to get rid of miscreants to ensure peaceful and harmonious co-existence.