Offinso Circuit Court jails three robbers 75 years for highway attack

The Offinso Circuit Court has handed a combined 75-year prison sentence with hard labour to three young men who violently attacked a truck driver and his mate at Asempanaye in the Ashanti Region.

The convicts — 22-year-old Nasiru Abdul-Malik, 23-year-old Solomon Kwaku Annor Clinton, and 20-year-old Hakeem Ibrahim — pleaded guilty to charges of robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery.

Presiding Judge, His Honour Paul Oduro, sentenced each of them to 10 years for conspiracy and 15 years for robbery, with both sentences to run concurrently.

The court heard that on September 22, 2025, a truck transporting fertiliser from Tema to Wa stopped along the Kumasi–Techiman highway at Asempanaye for repairs. In the early hours of the next day, at about 1:30 a.m., the three armed men launched an attack on the driver and his mate using an axe, a machete and a pair of scissors.

The robbers seized a Samsung A24 Ultra smartphone valued at GH¢14,000, an Itel smartphone worth GH¢400, an Itel keypad phone worth GH¢100, a backpack containing personal belongings, and GH¢140 cash.

Their attempt to escape, however, was foiled by the vigilance of the Asempanaye youth, who quickly mobilised, arrested the suspects, and handed them over to the police. Investigators later recovered all the stolen items, and the suspects confessed to the crime during interrogation.

The convicts have since been transferred to the Kumasi Central Prisons to serve their sentences.

In a statement issued in Mampong on September 29, the Ashanti North Police Command commended the Asempanaye community for its swift intervention and reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring public safety and bringing criminals to justice.