The Upper West Regional Police Command has arrested two suspects believed to be linked to a series of gruesome murders recorded in the Wa Municipality since 2021.
The suspects are Mahamuda Lamin, aged 25, who was arrested on October 3, 2025, at Dondoli and Sharif Abdulai, a cobbler, aged 30, who was also arrested on October 6, 2025, at Adabiya, both suburbs of Wa.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mr Francis Yiribaare, the Upper West Regional Police Commander, disclosed this at a press briefing in Wa on Wednesday.
He said the arrests followed weeks of intensive intelligence gathering and coordinated operations aimed at unraveling the mystery behind the serial killings.
Mr Yiribaare indicated that between 2021 and 2022, the region recorded 15 murder cases involving mainly night watcman who were found dead at their duty posts.
The recent victim was Mr Issah Yahaya, a night watchman who was found dead in a motor mechanic shop at Dobile, near the New Market on September 21, 2025.
Police investigations at the crime scene revealed particles of cement block mixed with blood, a knife placed on the deceased’s face and a cement block stained with blood behind the mechanic shop.
The Police Commander indicated during a search on Sherif Abdulai, the prime suspect, the Police retrieved a mobile phone and a solar-powered radio all belonging to the deceased.
A follow-up search at his hideout in a metal container in a bush near the Wa Airport led to the recovery of a sack containing cooked meat, a “specially designed cutlass”, a bicycle and a pickaxe handle.
The bicycle and the cutlass were later identified as properties of the deceased, Issah Yahaya.
Mr Yiribaare said a post-mortem examination on the deceased indicated that he died from “severe head injury due to blunt force head trauma,” similar to the causes of the deaths recorded in previous years.
He explained that Sherif Abdulai, an ex-convict, confessed, during interrogation, to killing 15 people in the Wa Municipality since 2021.
He also admitted to killing additional victims in the Savannah Region – three mentally challenged persons and two watchman in Bole, one mentally challenged person in Banda Nkwanta, and one woman in Bamboi.
“He (the suspect) noted that he usually targets watchman and sometimes mentally challenged persons. He carries victims on his shoulder and buries them in bushes unnoticed.
Investigation is still ongoing to establish whether or not there are other suspects involved and we will not rest until the perpetrators of this heinous crime are brought to justice,” Mr Yiribaare indicated.
The Regional Police Commander commended the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Christian Tetteh Yohonu, for his leadership and strategic guidance that led to the landmark arrest.
He assured the public that the police remained resolute in their commitment to safeguarding lives and property and urged residents to continue supporting the Police with credible information to prevent crimes.
GNA
