A 24-year-old Nigerian man, Gideon Vitallis has been arrested by operatives of the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) for allegedly murdering a cash point operator, Patience Ago Quaye at the Twumasiwaa Memorial Clinic in Accra, Ghana.
Thirty-two-year-old Patience, who worked at the centre, was allegedly found dead in a store room at the facility last Wednesday after she had been missing for days.
The mother of one reportedly went to work on the night of Monday, 6 March at the facility located at Otinshie in the Adenta Municipality but did not return home. After failed attempts to reach her, the family reported the issue to the police.
The police, together with the family, went to the medical centre in search of Patience and discovered her body after breaking into the Administration Room where they smelled an unpleasant odour.
According to the family, the position in which the body was found suggested she might have been strangled.
Confirming the arrest, DailyGuide Ghana said the suspect visited the hospital where he was once a store keeper but was fired for stealing, having come to Ghana in 2021.
He sneaked back to the hospital targeting the cash point for money, and after spotting Patricia, who had just closed from work, he confronted her. The lady went missing and could not be traced.
According to the report, the suspect used the deceased’s phone to send a message that she had been kidnapped, and demanded a ransom of GH¢20,000, issuing an ultimatum of 24 hours for the money to be paid.
This attracted the attention of the NIB operatives who were ordered to deploy because of the kidnapping element in the crime. The security personnel got information from the hospital that a dead body had been found within the hospital and so went into action.
The hospital authorities later sent information about discovering Patience’s remains.
Intelligence indicated that the suspect left his Accra Madina location for Koforidua, where he was traced and arrested at the Koforidua Central Market.
During interrogation on 11 March, the suspect gave a graphic description of how the deceased died.
According to him, he pulled her arm to her back and turned the neck to get the cash point key but she resisted and both of them fell to the ground.
He said her head hit the floor and she died, adding that he concealed the body in the store with the key.
NIB operatives have confirmed that he had in his possession the victim’s phone, the SIM of which they have retrieved.
The suspect will be handed over to the police for further action.
It has been learnt that the suspect was brought to Ghana by his compatriot to engage in internet fraud.
Last Thursday, the family stormed the facility demanding answers about what happened to their relative.
