Two key suspects nabbed in missing teacher saga

Police have arrested two men in connection with the disappearance of a basic school teacher at Woe in the Keta District of the Volta Region.

Wilson Tenu, 29, the Salvation Army Basic School at Woe teacher has been missing since September 6, 2006 when he went out on a bicycle at about 20:30 hours on that fateful day to buy a few items in town.

A source at the Keta Divisional Police Command named the suspects as Xovor Akpalu, 23, with whom the missing teacher’s cell phone chip was found and Hunor Koblaga, 50, a fetish priest of the area who admitted selling the phone to Akpalu.

The police source told the GNA that shortly before their detention on Friday, Akpalu and Koblaga engaged each other in an argument over the phone.

He said while Koblaga insisted that a phone he sold to Akpalu was his personal property but without a chip, Akpalu said it contained a chip when he bought it.

The source said Akpalu also claimed Koblaga was in use of a phone he suspected to be the missing teacher’s and added that he believed Koblaga discarded it when investigations were underway.

The source said Koblaga denied Akpalu’s assertion that he (Koblaga) had been using a phone he (Akpalu) had suspected to belong to the missing teacher and showed a phone to the police as one he had been using for a long time.

Mr Frank Edufati, Deputy Superintendent of Police in charge of crime at the Divisional Command confirmed the new development and said police were making efforts were to unearth the mystery surrounding the missing teacher.

When Mr Edufati was informed about the anger of the community against the police for allegedly failing to detain Akpalu and Koblaga soon after they were linked to the phone, a situation that they considered allowed the culprits ample time to hide key exhibits, he said in-depth investigation would still be carried out into the matter.

Teachers and some sympathizers frustrated by the lack of progress in investigations into Tenu’s whereabouts were said to be planning demonstrations at Woe.

Source: GNA