Four of the five persons who allegedly lynched a 21-year-old student at Suponso in the Birim Central Municipality, have been remanded in prison custody by the Akyem Oda District Magistrate's Court. The four: Kwadwo Ahwiren, Safohene of Suponso; Kwadwo Opey, Kwabena Akosi and K wadwo Okwaning, all farmers of the village, are facing murder charges. The fifth accomplice, Nana Amoah Kwadwo II, the Suponsohene, who is being charged with abetment of crime for his failure to report to the police after his subjects had allegedly lynched the deceased until he was invited by the police on February 12, 2010, was, however, granted police inquiry bail. The accused persons whose pleas were not taken, will reappear before the court presided over by Mr Albert Annor-Owusu on April 29, this year. The facts of the case as presented by the prosecutor, Detective Inspector W.K. Appiah of Oda police were that, a series of killings, suspected to be for ritual purposes, had created panic at Atiankama Nkwanta and Suponnso for some time now. Two men were reportedly killed under mysterious circumstances, while a female teacher and a pupil were also allegedly abducted in the municipality within a period of three weeks. Sensing danger, the youth of Suponso organised themselves into a vigilante group to check the activities of the suspected ritual murderers. Inspector Appiah said on January 30, this year, a female farmer at Suponso raised alarm that she was being attacked by a suspected ritual murderer, which attracted many people to the area. He said the youth of the village arrested the deceased, Saviour Azigi, maltreated him and sent him to the chief’s palace. After interrogating the deceased, Nana Amoah ordered Ahwiren, Opey, Akosi and Okwaning to take him to the police station at Akyem Manso. The prosecutor said the four accused persons refused to convey the deceased to Manso in a vehicle but dragged him on the road from Suponso to Atiankama Nkwanta, a distance of about five kilometres, amidst brutal assault. He said on reaching Atiankaama Nkwanta in the night, the youth of that community also joined their Suponso counterparts to assault the young man with stones, blocks and clubs, lynching him in the process. Inspector Appiah stated that before the Oda police could hear of the incident and go to the scene, the young man was already dead. He said investigations by the police later revealed that the man, who was identified as Saviour Azigi, was a student in Accra and that he had developed mental problems recently and had thus been sent to his parents at Akyem Osenase, near Asamankese. According to the prosecutor, Azigi was said to be receiving spiritual treatment at a healing camp in the town but sneaked out of the camp to where he was mistaken for a ritual murderer and lynched. Source: The Mirror