The family of Amadu Apiiga and Phillip Avoabilla, two of the persons killed during a police operation at Binaba in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region, has rejected the police account that the suspects were killed in an exchange of gunfire.
The family is demanding answers and justice over the circumstances surrounding the deaths, insisting that the deceased did not engage the police in a gun battle as claimed.
The Upper East Regional Police Command says it arrested seven suspected armed robbers on September 19, 2026, during an operation targeting a robbery gang allegedly operating across Binaba, Binduri, Pusiga, Garu, Zebilla and surrounding communities.
According to the police, some of the suspects subsequently led officers to the Tilli Forest to retrieve weapons allegedly concealed there.
The police said the team came under gunfire while at the forest, resulting in an exchange of gunfire.
Three of the suspects, including 33-year-old Amadu Apiiga, reportedly sustained gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital.
But at a press briefing at the family house in Binaba on Thursday, September 24, the family challenged the police’s account of the incident.
The family spokesperson, Reverend Awintoam Sampson, questioned how persons who were reportedly already in police custody could have engaged armed police officers in a gun battle.
He said the family wanted the authorities to provide a clear account of what happened to their relatives.
A sister of one of the deceased also called on the authorities to provide evidence to support the allegations against their relatives.
She stressed that the family was not opposed to efforts by the security agencies to combat crime but insisted that suspects must be given the opportunity to face due process of law.
Another family member, Apiiga Ernestina, said the family had no intention of confronting the security agencies but wanted clear answers about the circumstances that led to the deaths.
She said the family never expected that taking a relative from his room to a police station for investigations would eventually result in his death.
The family is therefore calling for clarification on the events leading to the deaths and is demanding justice for the deceased.
