Ghanaian Police are investigating the murder of a Ghanaian lawmaker, Ekow Quansah Hayford, member of President Nana Akufo-Addo’s ruling New Patriotic Party.

Hayford was killed on his way back from a political campaign event in his constituency on Friday in what the police are calling a robbery case.

The member of President Nana Akufo-Addo’s ruling New Patriotic Party, was campaigning ahead of the December elections in his constituency, some 108 kilometers (67 miles) from the capital Accra.

Wofa Yaw, an NPP official who was accompanying the slain MP,  said that, “His driver attempted to drive through a road-block but he was shot.

“In the course of the melee, the MP introduced himself as the lawmaker for the area and immediately they shot him and he died on the spot,” Yaw said, adding that the driver later died in hospital.

Another eye witness who asked to be anonymous also said that, “They asked us to lie down while others ran into the bush. It was a terrifying scene. All we heard were gunshots”.

Ghanaian Inspector General of Police, James Oppong-Boanuh, said in a statement that investigators had been dispatched to support local authorities in solving the alleged robbery incident and murder.

The president of Ghana, in a statement on Facebook, offered his condolences to the MP’s family, saying that he was shocked and saddened by the news.

“By all accounts, he was very much appreciated and loved by his constituents, and I expect the police to bring the perpetrators of this gruesome, cruel act to book as soon as possible,” President Akufo-Addo said.

The party will have to nominate a new candidate for the Mfantseman constituency which Hayford represented.

In a statement released by the opposition National Democratic Congress, it said it was suspending its campaign in the constituency in solidarity with the ruling party.