Armed robbers attack traders on Techiman-Kumasi road

Nkoranza (B/A), July 14, GNA - A band of seven armed robbers attacked and robbed about 70 passengers on an Omnibus Transport bus of their monies running into several millions of cedis and cell phones on the Techiman-Kumasi highway in the early hours of Tuesday. The passengers were mostly traders travelling from Accra to Nkoranza in Brong Ahafo to purchase food items such as maize, yam, groundnuts and cowpea.

Mr Daniel Gagli, the driver's mate on the bus told Ghana News Agency at the Nkoranza Lorry Station that when the bus, with registration number GR 8032 C, got to a point at Abofour, near Offinso, they saw that two vehicles, a cargo truck and a KIA truck parked across the road.

The driver, suspecting that it was an accident stopped to find out what was happening but before they could "say jack," armed robbers suddenly appeared at the scene and ordered the driver to hand over all the money he had on him.

Mr Gagli said they collected 800,000 cedis from the driver and then moved into the vehicle and ordered the passengers also to hand over all monies on them.

The passengers refused to comply so the robbers gave two warning shots and asked them to choose between losing their lives and giving out their monies.

At gunpoint the robbers succeeded in collecting monies from the passengers and made them to lie prostrate by the roadside. Mr Gagli said just after this, a Suzuki vehicle appeared on the scene from the direction of Kumasi and the robbers jumped into it and it sped off towards Kumasi.

When the Ghana News Agency enquired from the police at Nkoranza, a source said the case had not been reported to them although they had heard of the incident.

He, however, explained that the incident did not occur within the jurisdiction of the Nkoranza District Police.