Residents of SSNIT Flats at Foe, a suburb of Tamale in the Northern Region, are living in fear following a vicious attack on a colleague in Flat 8F on Monday afternoon by some unknown assailants.
Twenty-year-old Salma Ayisha Yakubu, a second year medical student of the University for Development Studies (UDS), was reported to have been attacked by miscreants while she was alone in her apartment.
She was left in a pool of blood in her bedroom with deep cuts on the head and some severe bruises on her neck, with leads suggesting her assailants tried to strangulate her until she became unconscious.
The poor student, hours later, regained consciousness and managed to descend to the ground floor, bleeding profusely but collapsed and lay helplessly on the floor.
The timely intervention of neighbors who called in the Ambulance Service saved her life after she was rushed to the hospital.
Madam Anita Horm, a resident, disclosed that she was called to the scene by neighbours who saw the victim lying naked close to the staircase of one of the flats, gasping for breath.
She immediately brought out a cloth to cover her, after which the ambulance was called into convey her to the hospital where she was currently responding to treatment.
Investigations at the residence revealed traces of blood on the walls and sofa, which suggested Salma Ayisha struggled to get down from the two-story building.
Apart from her two cell phones, an ipad and a laptop that were taken away by the attackers, all other belongings were intact, according to police investigations, giving rise to a suspicion that the attack could be related to some contract killing.
Dr. Bill Koomson, a medical officer at the Tamale Teaching Hospital, disclosed to investigators that the victim was rushed to the facility unconscious with deep cuts on the head and bruises as a result of strangulation around the neck.
He however disclosed she was regaining consciousness at a slow pace – reasons why she was transferred from the emergency ward to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for close observation.
He added that they were awaiting a report on a CT scan conducted on the head to ascertain whether there were some fractures, but disclosed that the victim was unable to move some parts of the body.
Course mates and close associates of Salma Ayisha, who spoke to Daily Guide said she was supposed to be at lectures that morning, but never showed up and her phones were all switched off, except one; and that she did not respond to calls made to it.
One of them, who spoke to her earlier at about 9:12am, claimed she indicated she was leaving home for Dungu only for them to be told she had been attacked and was at the hospital.
The police confirmed the attack to Daily Guide and indicated that the matter was currently being investigated, promising to track down the perpetrators and bring them to book.
In the interim, they disclosed that they were waiting for the victim to recover so they could extract some information from her to lead to the arrest of the suspect.
