Police arrest suspect over murder of UCC student Innocentia Avinu

The Ghana Police Service has arrested a 39-year-old man, Michael Mensah, in connection with the murder of University of Cape Coast (UCC) student Innocentia Atsufui Avinu.

According to the police, Mensah was picked up by the Inspector General of Police's Cyber Vetting and Enforcement Team on Sunday, June 14, 2026, at about 7:15 p.m. at the Pedu Lorry Station in Cape Coast. The arrest followed what the service described as sustained, intelligence-led operations.

Preliminary investigations indicate that on June 11, 2026, at about 6:48 p.m., the suspect, who claims to be a teacher by profession but also works as a driver, picked the deceased from Ayensu Plaza within the UCC hostel enclave and drove her to Hutchland Beach, where she was last seen.

'Investigations continue and any further development will be duly communicated,' the police said in a statement.

Innocentia Atsufui Avinu, 20, was a Level 200 Bachelor of Commerce (Human Resource) student at UCC who resided in a private hostel at Amamoma, near the university. Her family hails from Dzodze in the Volta Region.

Her body was discovered washed ashore at Hutchland Beach, near Duakor on the Cape Coast-Takoradi highway, on the morning of Friday, June 12, 2026, after residents alerted the authorities. The Cape Coast District Police Command launched investigations and appealed to the public for help in identifying the body.

She was identified after her roommate reported to the police with a photograph. The roommate told investigators that Avinu had received a phone call, dressed casually and left their room in the evening, and did not return. Family members later formally confirmed her identity at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital mortuary on Saturday, June 13.

The Central Regional Police Command, in an earlier statement signed by its Public Relations Officer, Chief Inspector Isaac Evans Ettie, said an initial examination of the body, carried out in the presence of relatives, revealed no visible marks of assault. The command also dismissed widely circulated claims that parts of the deceased's body had been removed, describing those reports as false.

The deceased's family separately condemned the organ harvesting claims as fabricated and appealed to the public to stop sharing images of her body.

The death drew national attention. The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, described the incident as deeply distressing and directed UCC to work with the Ghana Police Service on a full investigation. The university has also opened an internal inquiry and made counselling available to the deceased's roommate, coursemates and other affected students.

A post-mortem examination is expected to help establish the exact cause of death.