Elyasah Mahama, the dismissed Human Resource (HR) Officer of the Royal Cosy Hills Hotel (Jirapa Dubai), is in police custody in connection with the brutal murder of the facility’s Chief Executive Officer, Eric Johnson.
Reports indicate that Mr. Mahama is being treated as the prime suspect. He was allegedly apprehended at a Takoradi hideout and flown to Wa for interrogation.
According to available information, Mr. Eric Johnson, the CEO of ‘Jirapa Dubai’, fired the former HR officer on Thursday, February 8, 2024, three days before his murder.
According to sources, Mr. Mahama allegedly left the Jirapa township shortly after the gruesome murder of Mr Eric Johnson. He was eventually tracked down to Takoradi, where he was detained.
After a few days of interrogation in Wa, the former HR manager was sent back to Takoradi for further interrogation before finally being brought back to Wa.
The arrest of Elyasah Mahama puts the total number of people detained in connection with the businessman’s murder to eight.
‘Jirapa Dubai’ CEO murdered
According to the police statement, Mr Eric Johnson was found dead in a pool of blood in one of the hotel rooms on Sunday, February 11.
The Police have since commenced an investigation into the incident. One person was earlier detained to assist with the investigation.
The Ghana Police Service had earlier arrested seven more suspects in connection with the death of Mr Eric Johnson, CEO of Royal Cosy Hills Hotel, nicknamed ‘Jirapa Dubai’ in the Upper West Region.
However, updating the public on its investigation, the Police said, “Dookuuri Fausta, Braimah Kasim, Beyuo Felix and Michael Klugey who are all workers at the Cossy Hill Hotel are in Police custody assisting the investigation together with suspect Kumbata Kwaku who was earlier on arrested.”
Read also: ‘Jirapa Dubai’ CEO: GH¢100k bounty placed on killers – MP
The alleged murder of the business mogul was made known to the public in a Facebook post by one Kennedy Mornah, a reporter from the region. It is believed that Mr. Mornah has a close relationship with the deceased CEO.
”Owner of Jirapa Dubai allegedly murdered? How did we get here? A very sad way indeed to begin the year,” Kennedy Mornah posted on Facebook.
Meanwhile, some unconfirmed reports are connecting the gruesome murder of Mr. Johnson to chieftaincy issues in the Jirapa District, where the deceased hails from.
According to reports, Mr. Eric Johnson was allegedly complicit in a plot to force the Jirapa traditional area’s residents to elect a certain individual as chief.
The move by Mr. Johnson, according to reports, infuriated certain members of the royal family, who petitioned him along with other family members and the Tendaaba, who were plotting to name a chief for the traditional area.