Miss Niamatu Sumaila, a teenager of the Basissan Basic School in the Sissala East Municipality has been found dead under a tree after she reportedly went missing a few days ago.

Alhaji Pio Sumaila Yakubu, the Paramount Chief of the Banu Traditional Area reported the incident to the Tumu Police.

A search team was dispatched to the community where she was found dead under a small tree at Kpari near Basissan.

Dr. Charles Agyekum Woode, the Medical Director at the Tumu Municipal hospital who visited the scene with the Police and members of the community, discovered the girl lying under a tree, which was later identified by the father, Mr Braimah Chiraseh.

Dr Agyekum Woode said although no marks of violence were found on the body an autopsy would be conducted on the deceased and a report submitted in due course of the highly decomposed body. which was later released to the family for burial.

According to Mr Seidu Hudu, Assembly member for the Banu Electoral Area, who narrated the incident to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said, "Niamatu Sumaila closed from school on Tuesday, 5th July, 2022.

She prepared some rice for the family and left for the bush to look for some vegetables known in the local dialect as foga”.

He said the parents of the deceased returned from the farm at about 1900 hours and were told that she had gone to the bush to harvest some vegetables.

“The search team walked around and saw a spot where she struggled with her murderer (s) and her panties and waist beads found torn and thrown around, kept her under shrubs, naked with only her shirt on, and then covered her with some leaves”, the assembly member said.

The death of the schoolgirl adds to another gruesome murder of a gold dealer, Mr Zakaria Borsuwie Luri (Zak Sissala) who was killed on 2nd April 2022 by suspected armed robbers in the same Banu Paramountcy of which the Police are yet to find the culprits.

Meanwhile, a Police post established in Banu with a barrier to maintain security in the area had been abandoned, with the Police citing the absence of structures and logistics in the town which is about 50km from Tumu.