There was pandemonium at Amanase, a community in the Ayensuano District in the Eastern Region Monday evening.
Rampaging youth in the community set ablaze a brand new car of a fetish priest and a damaged Police vehicle in the violence that broke up over the arrest of five suspected ritual murders accused of allegedly attempting to abduct a child in the community for rituals.
According to the Coaltar District Police, they received a distress call from Nana Addo Agyekum, Gyaasehene of Amanase that he had in his custody at his palace, suspects believed to be part of criminals indulging in ritual murder who were arrested and handed over to him by some youth but needed Police assistance to escort him to the Police station as the youth had surrounded his palace to subject them to instance justice.
Police quickly moved to the palace but were violently resisted by the mob.
Reinforcement was called from Suhum and Kibi where the Suhum Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Joseph Owusu, the Kibi Divisional Crime officer, and Coaltar District Commander also arrived at the scene with the reinforcement team yet Police could not march the angry crowd.
The irate mob had set fire on a car belonging to one of the suspects and started pelting Police with stones causing damage to a side window glass of service vehicle No. GP 2867 of Kibi Police Divisional Patrol.
Some of the stones hit the Suhum Police Commander as well as the Kibi Divisional Crime officer.
Police started firing warning shots before they were able to whisk away the suspects.
The suspects rescued are Prince Adjololo age 26 years, Solomon Adjololo age 28 years, Mintah Benjamin age 23 years, Felix Haya age 27 years and Akwasi Tenkorang also age 27 years were sent to Suhum Police station.
The acting Public Relations Officer for the Eastern Regional Police Command Francis Gomado confirmed the incident to mybrytfmonline.com.
The fetish priest at Amanase has been linked to the ritual killing of an 11-year-old boy at Kasoa in the Central region.
On April 9, 2021, the chiefs and elders and their subjects at Amanase clad in red and black apparels stormed the shrine and attempted to set it on fire but for the intervention of armed Police from Suhum.
They gave a week ultimatum for the fetish priest to be prosecuted if found culpable else will advise themselves.
Source: Mybyrtfmonline.com/Obed Ansah
