Accra, July 12, GNA - Professor John Evans Atta Mills, Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Wednesday called on President J.A Kufuor, the Interior Minister, and the Inspector General of Police, as a matter of urgency find the assassins and brains behind the recent murders in the country.

He said the Kufour administration must also restore hope in Ghanaians that they can operate within a safe environment and not live in constant fear not knowing who would fall victim next to the bullets of the contract killers.

A statement issued in Accra and signed by Prof. Atta Mills said the recent slaying of Mr. Rokko Frimpong, Deputy Managing Director of the Ghana Commercial Bank, has undoubtedly accentuated the belief that Ghanaians were now in an era where people are engaging the services of Contract Killers, to either settle scores or for the pursuit of their selfish interests.

It said Mr. Frimpong, a prominent Corporate Executive, Mr. Awuah Boateng, and an accomplished journalist, Mr. Samuel Ennin, were all murdered in cold blood by heartless assassins who killed not because they wanted to steal property or wealth, but killed because the mission was to wipe out their victims.

The statement said the very professional manner in which the assassins carryout their assignments was a worrying trend that is being established, in that the hit men have exhibited brazen bravado which reeks of a "we fear nothing" attitude as they execute their jobs without masking themselves.

"It is this "we fear nothing" attitude that Ghanaians must be extremely worried about since the message that the assassins and their bosses are sending is that they either don't care if they are caught, or know that they are so well connected and protected that they cannot be caught" the statement added.

The statement also said as scary as the current phenomenon of Contract Killing is, it is not difficult to draw a link between what is happening and Ghana having become a key hub and major transit point for the illicit drug trade.

Ghana has become a principal corridor through which trans-national drug trafficking groups operate and incontrovertible evidence abounds to that effect.

It said the magnitude of ill-gotten wealth that the drug trade makes available to the barons, allows them to use money to buy almost anything - including buying the services of hit men.

The statement said it could not be ruled out that contract killers also tend to be users of drugs hence the barefaced boldness we are witnessing as in the three cases in question, the hit men have operated without masks.