The Accra Regional Police Command says it has begun investigations into the murder of Nii Tettey Sarbah, Nkusuohene of Amasaman, who was shot and butchered to death by unknown assailants.

In a press statement Monday signed by ASP Afia Tengey, the police “is assuring the general public especially family members and the residents of Ardeyman to exercise restraint as police continue to pursue the perpetrators of the crime.”

Nii Sarbah’s body was found lying supine on a mat, arms up and a deep and wide cut on his forehead early Monday morning.

He had two cuts, which were curved out on his stomach with dried blood everywhere. He was found dead in his room close to the stool house at Amasaman in the Greater Accra region.

At least four bullet holes pierced the building as some assailants who rained bullets into the house last Thursday dawn are yet to be identified.

A relative of the deceased, Samuel Otoo, told Joy News they found him dead around 5 am, hours after hearing gunshots at about 1 am.

Nii Sarbah was part of a retinue of chiefs who performed some purification rites at the Ardeyman stool House.

Stories explaining the circumstances surrounding the murder are rife but the general suspicion remains - land.

The murder of the chief has rekindled fears over the security of properties acquired in the community.

Litigation over land was at the heart of the February 2011 killing of Achiaman Chief Nii Kwartey Ajan I. More than six years later, another chief has been murdered in a similar circumstance.

The police promised, however, that their “intelligence-led operations” will get to the bottom of the issue.   

The Regional Command is also appealing to community members to provide credible information that will enhance investigations through police hotlines, 191 and 18555.

Meanwhile, the police have been intensified within Ardeyman and its environs to prevent reprisal attacks and maintain peace.