Nima, New Town Youth Clash Over 22-yr-Old's Murder

The murder of a 22-year-old man at Accra New Town has led to violent clashes between the youth of Nima and New Town, both suburbs of Accra.

The deceased, Abdul Balaki, was said to have had a violent confrontation with one Ben, who stabbed him on the chest and abdomen and bolted.

To avert further clashes which could result in the loss of lives and property, security has been beefed up by the police in the two areas.

According to the Nima Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Angwubotuge Awuni, two men, Richard Viase and Seth Anthonio, had so far been arrested to assist the police in their investigations.

He said the deceased accused Ben of having snatched his girlfriend from him and even beat up the girl for cheating on him.

He said a misunderstanding later ensued between the deceased and Richard, a close friend of Ben's, on Friday morning, after which the deceased was said to have given Richard a sound beating before they were separated.

He said the deceased was alleged to have threatened Richard that he would beat him up again if he met him but he later changed his mind and apologised to Richard.

Chief Supt Awuni said in the evening of the same day, the deceased and Richard met at a drinking spot at Agbajenaa, an area in New Town, and while they were there drinking, Ben also entered the bar to buy a drink. The deceased, on seeing Ben, chased him to a nearby house where a fierce fight ensued between the two.

He said there was a power outage in the area at the time and that in the course of the fight the two men drew knives so nobody could separate them. It was in the course of the struggle that bystanders heard the deceased shouting that he had been stabbed.

Chief Supt Awuni said Ben and his group then bolted, leaving the deceased in a pool of blood. Seth, who is the owner of the drinking spot, lodged a complaint at the Kotobabi Police Station.

Some policemen were dispatched to the scene but when they got there the deceased was nowhere to be found so they returned to the police station. Later, an uncle of the deceased went to report at the same police station that his nephew had been stabbed to death.

According to the uncle, the family heard about the stabbing incident and rushed to the scene, only to find the deceased in a pool of blood. He was rushed to the 37 Military Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

As a result, they were advised by the hospital authorities to take the body back and report to the police. By then the body was in a waiting taxi so they were asked to take it to the Police Hospital mortuary.

The next morning, friends of the deceased from Nima stormed the drinking spot and vandalised the whole place. They also threatened to set some houses in the area ablaze.

Chief Supt Awuni said the police had information on Saturday that the friends of the deceased had threatened to unleash mayhem on those who killed Abdul so a police patrol team was quickly dispatched there.

Story by Mary Mensah