One of the most heartbreaking moments in Ghana’s recent political history was the tragic killing of the late Member of Parliament for Mfantseman, Hon. Ekow Quansah Hayford, on October 9, 2020. He was returning from a campaign tour when armed highway robbers attacked his convoy on the Abeadze Dominase Mankessim road in the Central Region and cruelly took his life.
But beyond the pain and national shock, this case also became one of the clearest examples of what modern police intelligence and technology can achieve when properly deployed.
After the attack, the robbers reportedly took away the late MP’s Samsung Galaxy A50 mobile phone, not knowing that the device would later become the very clue that exposed them. The Ghana Police Service, through its Cybercrime and Homicide Units, immediately launched investigations and began tracking the phone’s signal.
For nearly three days, investigators monitored the movement of the device. The suspects reportedly switched the phone on and off, perhaps hoping to avoid detection, but the police remained patient and persistent. Eventually, the signal led officers to a hotel room in Aboabo, Kumasi, where a suspect identified as Naziru Fudailu Nash was arrested with the late MP’s phone in his possession.
During interrogation, Nash claimed he had purchased the phone for GH¢780 and was not among the robbers who killed the MP. He then directed police to the man who sold the phone to him Alhassan Abubakar. Acting swiftly, undercover officers moved to Akwatia Line in Kumasi, where Abubakar was arrested.
That arrest opened an even bigger door.
As investigators followed the trail of the stolen phone through dealers and black-market handlers, police gradually uncovered the chain that connected the device back to the original robbery gang. Intelligence gathered from the suspects helped officers map out the criminal network, leading to coordinated operations across Kumasi and parts of the Central Region.
In May 2021, during a separate police patrol operation on the Jakubu Obuasi highway, security officers encountered armed robbers believed to be linked to the same gang. A gun battle broke out, resulting in the death of one suspect, while four others were arrested.
Under interrogation, the suspects reportedly confessed to their involvement in the robbery attack that led to the death of Hon. Ekow Quansah Hayford.
On June 18, 2021, four suspects were sentenced to 20 years imprisonment with hard labour for a separate highway robbery case while investigations into the murder continued. Altogether, eight suspects were eventually arrested and remanded to face charges linked to conspiracy and the murder of the late MP.
This painful case teaches us two important lessons. First, crime leaves traces, and technology is becoming a powerful weapon in modern policing. Second, it proves that the Ghana Police Service has the capability to solve major crimes when given the needed support, logistics, intelligence systems, and public cooperation.
The murder of Hon. Ekow Quansah Hayford remains a painful scar in Ghana’s democratic journey, but the investigations that followed also showed that justice, though sometimes delayed, can still find its way.
We need to invest more in security, intelligence gathering, and policing not only for politicians but for every ordinary Ghanaian who travels our roads daily.
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