International News
Ghana Defence, Environment Ministers Killed In Helicopter Crash
Ghana’s defence and environment ministers were killed in a helicopter crash Wednesday, the presidency said, hours after the armed forces reported a chopper carrying three crew and five passengers dropped off the radar.
Television station Joy News broadcast cell phone footage from the crash scene showing smouldering wreckage amid a heavily forested area earlier in the day, before it was revealed that ministers Edward Omane Boamah and Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed were among the dead.
Boamah became President John Mahama’s defence minister earlier this year shortly after Mahama’s swearing-in in January.
Muhammed was serving as the minister of environment, science and technology.
Everyone onboard was killed in the accident, authorities said, while Ghanaian media reported that the helicopter was on its way to an event on illegal mining — a major environmental issue in the west African country.
ondolences and sympathies to the families of our comrades and the servicemen who died in service to the country,” said Mahama’s chief of staff Julius Debrah.
Boamah was leading Ghana’s defence ministry at a time when jihadist activity across its northern border in Burkina Faso has become increasingly restive.
While Ghana has so far avoided a jihadist spillover from the Sahel — unlike neighbours Togo and Benin — observers have warned of increased arms trafficking and of militants from Burkina Faso crossing the porous border to use Ghana as a rear base.
A medical doctor by training, Boamah’s career in government included stints as communications minister during Mahama’s previous 2012-2017 tenure. Before that, he was the deputy minister for environment.
Mahama was “down, down emotionally”, Haruna Iddrisu, Ghana’s education minister, told reporters outside the presidency after news broke of the crash.
Illegal mining
The Ghanaian Armed Forces had reported earlier Wednesday that an air force helicopter had fallen off radar after taking off from Accra just after 9:00 am local time (0900 GMT). It had been headed towards the town of Obuasi, northwest of the capital.
The statement had said that three crew and five passengers were aboard, without specifying at the time that the ministers were among them.
Alhaji Muniru Mohammed, Ghana’s deputy national security coordinator and former agriculture minister, was among the dead, along with Samuel Sarpong, vice chairman of Mahama’s National Democratic Congress party.
Muhammed, the environment minister, was at the helm as the country battles a scourge of illegal, informal gold mining that has ravaged farmlands and contaminated water.
“Galamsey”, as the practice is locally known, has been threatening cocoa production in particular and became a major issue in the election that saw Mahama elected last year.
The establishment earlier this year of the Ghana Gold Board and the banning of foreigners from the local gold trade were seen as the first concrete signs of a crackdown on the practice by the new administration.
As Ghana has pursued increased diplomacy with Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger — all ruled by juntas who have broken with the ECOWAS west African regional bloc — Boamah led a delegation to Ouagadougou in May.
He had been set to release a book titled “A Peaceful Man in an African Democracy”, about former president John Atta Mills, who died in 2012.
All flags were to be flown at half-mast, Debrah said, while the presidency said Mahama had cancelled his official activities for the day.
Jeremy Doku insisted Manchester “will keep on fighting” in the Premier League title race despite their “painful” draw with Everton on Monday.
City drew 3-3 with the Toffees at Hill Dickinson Stadium, with Doku scoring a 97th-minute equaliser, having also scored the opening goal.
Doku’s equaliser (96:49) is City’s third-latest goal on record (since 2006-07) in a Premier League game after John Stones’ strike against Arsenal in September 2024 (97:14) and Gabriel Jesus’ goal against Everton in February 2019 (96:52).
Doku has had a hand in six goals across his last five games for City in all competitions (four goals, two assists), as many as in his previous 22 games combined (one goal, five assists).
The Belgian also created the most chances in the match against Everton (four), completed the most dribbles (5/7) and won the most duels (14/19).
City avoided defeat in a Premier League game despite trailing by 2+ goals as late as the 82nd minute for the first time since March 2012 against Sunderland (3-3).
They went on to win the league title in 2011-12, and Doku believes City can still beat Arsenal to the trophy this season.
“First half, we played well and created a lot of chances. We know if we don’t score those chances, it is going to get difficult at the end,” said Doku.
“Obviously, they are at their own stadium, they create chances, and they are dangerous, and they scored two goals, but I think we gave them the game.
“Good that we came back because one point is not bad in games like this.
“We will see. It feels painful now. There is still a lot of games to go. We lost two points, but we know that one point can be important at the end.
“We will keep on fighting. We owe it to ourselves and to our fans.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Nigerians interested in repatriation from South Africa will be responsible for the cost of their return trip to Nigeria.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, stated this during a press briefing on Monday in Abuja.
The briefing came shortly after a closed-door meeting between the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dunoma Ahmed, and the South African Acting High Commissioner, Lesoli Machele.
Mr Ebienfa said the process will be self-funded and not state-funded, as it is a voluntary decision that the Nigerian government will only facilitate and coordinate.
In the recent past, such reparations have been sponsored by Nigerian airline owners, particularly Allen Onyema, the CEO of Air Peace.
The Nigerian government, on Sunday, indicated its readiness to repatriate its citizens from South Africa due to xenophobic violence.
The effort primarily targets Nigerians who feel threatened by the xenophobic violence and tension in parts of South Africa, as the protests against black immigrants in the country continue. Two Nigerians were killed last month.
Since the announcement, about 130 Nigerians in South Africa have expressed a willingness to return home voluntarily.
Mr Ebienfa stated that the return of the Nigerians depends on their financial capacity, as they would be expected to fund their trip back home individually.
He said, “Those willing to leave are expected to approach the high commission and, given that their decision is voluntary, have the resources to fund their return to Nigeria.”
The government will not “provide an aircraft from Nigeria to convey them.”
He also noted that the speed of the repatriation process will be determined by the availability of funds.
“Yes, 130 as of this morning have registered, but actualisation would be required to have their flight ticket to move back to Nigeria.”
Mr Ebienfa also explained that Nigerians who have so far expressed interest are motivated either by concerns about threats to their lives or by fear of arrest by South African law enforcement agencies.
“There are two groups of Nigerians who want to come back. One group feels the country is not safe for them and wants to come. They have all their papers intact.
“Then there is also the second group that has travel document violations or resident permit violations. And instead of running away from law enforcement, they are appealing that the government facilitate their movement back to Nigeria,” he explained.
However, he noted that the process is still being worked out and that the government would step in to provide aircraft or other needed assistance if tensions rise and the situation becomes more volatile.
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