Robbers Jailed 200 Years

A Sekondi High Court presided over by Justice Robin Batu last Tuesday sentenced four highway robbers including three foreigners and a Ghanaian who robbed passengers at gunpoint on the Bibiani-Takoradi road in the Western Region to 200 years imprisonment in hard labour.

The accused persons, Issakar Bradie, a Guinean, Mohammed Issah, a Malian, Gariba Amadu, a Beninois and Abdulai Karim, a Ghanaian, pleaded not guilty to the charge of armed robbery and were sentenced to 50 years each to run concurrently.

Prosecuting, Madam Patience Klinogo, Principal State Attorney, said in the early hours of Tuesday July 19, 2007, the accused persons attacked passengers onboard three different vehicles at gunpoint and robbed them of their valuables including local and foreign currencies and mobile phones.

The money stolen amounted to one million Ghana cedis (GH¢1,000,000) and 900 CFA.

She said the victims were in a Mercedes Benz with registration number GT 9327 C, a VW Golf with the number GW 3838 W and a Kia pick-up with registration number 4877 S.

After the incident a report was made to the Bibiani Police who mounted a search for the robbers and managed to arrest the first and fourth accused persons.

Those arrested later aided the police to arrest the rest of the robbers.

According to the prosecutor, in the course of the attack one of the victims, a woman, got seriously injured and was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead.

After investigations the accused persons were charged with the offence of armed robbery and sentenced to 50 years' imprisonment each in hard labour.

From Emmanuel Opoku, Sekondi