The Northern Regional Executives of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) are demanding an independent and transparent investigation into the death of a teacher, Abu Seidu, following an encounter with police personnel at Gindabour in the Savannah Region.

GNAT says the Ghana Police Service should not be allowed to be the sole investigator in an incident in which its personnel are alleged to have been directly involved.

Mr Seidu, a professional teacher at Gindabour D/A Primary School in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District, died on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, in circumstances that remain disputed.

In a statement issued on September 24, the Northern Regional GNAT Executives said the investigation must establish exactly what happened from the moment Mr Seidu encountered the police until his death.

“This is precisely why GNAT demands an independent investigation. The Police Service cannot be allowed to be the sole investigator of an incident in which its own personnel are alleged to have been directly involved,” the union said.

GNAT said where a citizen dies following an encounter with law-enforcement officers, the circumstances must be subjected to an investigation that is “independent, impartial, transparent and credible enough to command public confidence.”

The union’s demand comes amid differing accounts of the circumstances surrounding Mr Seidu’s death.

The Police Service has said officers on patrol encountered a motorbike rider who diverted into the bush after seeing their vehicle. The officers reportedly later found him unconscious and began conveying him to hospital, but he died on the way.

Community accounts, however, have raised questions about what happened between the encounter with the police and the teacher’s death. The bodies of Mr Seidu and General Constable Redeemer Owusu, who was later killed in a mob attack, were taken for preservation and autopsy.

GNAT is also calling for the autopsy findings on Mr Seidu to form part of the independent investigation and for the outcome to be communicated transparently to his family and the public, subject to applicable legal requirements.

The union further wants a separate investigation into the death of General Constable Owusu, stressing that it condemns mob justice, vigilantism and the unlawful killing of any person.

“Justice for Abu Seidu must not be pursued at the expense of justice for Redeemer Owusu, and justice for Redeemer Owusu must not be pursued at the expense of justice for Abu Seidu,” GNAT said.

The union has also demanded an independent inquiry into allegations of vandalism, destruction of property, assault and intimidation allegedly committed during subsequent security operations in Gindabour.

GNAT said if such allegations are established, those responsible must be held accountable, stressing that the State’s responsibility is to restore order and not punish an entire community.

“Collective punishment has no place in a constitutional democracy,” the union said.