ANYAMAM, Ghana — The brother of a Ghanaian fisheries observer who went missing from his assigned vessel last October says the family has received no information from the authorities investigating the case. Yohane Abayateye tells Mongabay the family is now considering legal action to compel the Ghana Police Service to release the findings of its investigation, especially the DNA test results that could confirm the identity of a headless body that washed ashore in December. Samuel Abayateye, a 38-year-old father of two, was assigned to the Marine 707, a Ghana-flagged pole-and-line tuna-fishing vessel owned and operated by World Marine Company Ltd. The company, based in the fishing port of Tema, has stated it has 50% South Korean and 50% Ghanaian ownership. The company reported Abayateye missing from the vessel on Oct. 30, 2023. A body missing its head, forearms and feet that the family says closely resembled Abayateye washed ashore nearly six weeks later, and the police opened an investigation. World Marine Company Ltd. tuna vessel Marine 707. Image ©Rodolphe Villevieille/Sea Shepherd. A week after the body was found, the police asked Abayateye’s 100-year-old mother to assist in a DNA test to confirm its identity, which she did, according to Yohane Abayateye. However, the family’s attempts to get the DNA test results from the Ghana Police Service have proved futile, Yohane told Mongabay in an interview. “We are therefore left with no other choice than to seek the services of a lawyer to file a suit against the Ghana Police…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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