BY Nadia Ntiamoah
Two private security guards working for ADRA Timber Company have been gruesomely murdered in what authorities describe as a coordinated assault by suspected illegal loggers at the company’s concession in the Mpamso Forest near Nsuhia in the Dormaa Central Municipality of the Bono Region.
The attack, which occurred in the early hours of Saturday, has reignited concerns about the growing threat of armed illegal chainsaw operators in the forest reserves.
According to initial police reports, about 200 heavily armed men believed to be part of a syndicate engaged in illegal logging launched a brutal attack on the ADRA Timber concession at dawn.
The assailants, wielding guns and machetes, overpowered the two guards—identified as Sam Aliyu, 34, and Ibrahim Musa, 35—who were stationed at the site to protect the company’s assets. Both men were shot dead in cold blood.
The attackers also torched a Toyota pickup truck with registration number GT 3079-17, which was used by the guards, leaving it completely burnt beyond recognition.
Residents of nearby Nsuhia say they were awoken by sporadic gunshots from the forest, but out of fear, none dared to approach the scene until security personnel arrived hours later.
Police from the Dormaa Division have since launched a manhunt for the perpetrators, describing the attack as a “well-coordinated operation” likely orchestrated by organized illegal timber operators seeking to reclaim the forest area from company control.
Investigators have begun combing the forest area for evidence, while the bodies of the deceased have been deposited at the Dormaa Presbyterian Hospital morgue for autopsy.
