Five persons, including a pregnant woman, have been remanded into Police custody by an Accra Circuit Court for their alleged involvement in the robbery of a Chinese national at Caprice in Accra on December 9, 2022.
They have been accused of robbing the Chinese woman of GH₵410,000, $8,000 and two iPhones.
The accused persons are; Prince Anthony Chiobi, Izichuku Igwenagu, Emmanuella Chinwetalu, the lady who is pregnant, Martin Ahamafula Onwukwa, and Godfred Chukuebuka, aka, Caleb.
A sixth accused person, Yaw John Darko Ikenna is said to be at large.
The five accused persons have been charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and robbery.
The court presided over by Mrs Susana Eduful did not take their pleas pending further investigations.
They are expected to reappear on December 28, 2022.
The prosecution, led by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Seth Frimpong, opposed a bail appeal, saying if accused persons were granted bail, they would hamper investigations.
ASP Frimpong said the Police needed Emmanuella, the third accused person, married to Ikenna, currently at large, for more information.
He prayed the court to remand the accused persons for one week.
ASP Emmanuel Haligah, another prosecutor, told the court that the Police, at the peril of their lives managed to arrest the accused persons and that they had extended investigations into other places because some of the accused persons were said to belong to a group of robbers who allegedly travelled to Ghana to rob and leave the jurisdiction.
According to him, the Police had intelligence that Ikenna had sent money to Emmanuella to travel out of the country.
The defence counsel, Edward Nana Asare, prayed the court to grant the accused persons bail, especially Emmanuella who was heavily pregnant and needed special care.
“My Lady the Police are trying to use her as bait to get Ikenna.”
Nana Asare said there were no indications that any of the accused persons took part in the said robbery incident.
He drew the court’s attention to the Police’s assertion that some robbers had travelled to Ghana, engaged in robbery and left, suggesting his clients were not part of them.
The Court in its ruling declined bail.
It held that Emmanuella, who appeared to be pregnant, should be provided with basic needs while in custody.
The case of the prosecution was that on December 9, 2022, the Accra Regional Police Command had information that some armed men on motorbike had attacked, shot, and robbed a Chinese woman of some valuables at Caprice, a suburb of Accra.
It said the Regional Police on receipt of the information dispatched police personnel to the scene to ascertain the facts and investigate.
The prosecution said the victim informed the Police that the robbers took her GH₵370,000 which she had earlier cashed from the Standard Chartered Bank, West Hills Mall branch on the day of the incident.
According to the prosecution, the victim stated that she also had cash in the sum of GH₵40,000 and $8,000 as well as two iPhones (iPhone 11 and 8+), all stolen.
It said police intelligence revealed that the “suspects before this honourable court and others were involved in the crime and it emerged that they were at a hideout at Buduburam.”
The prosecution said when the Police got there the robbers engaged them in a shootout which resulted in the deaths of Nneji Harrison Ogbona and another.
“These suspects before the court were apprehended later while others escaped. During investigations, it emerged that the suspects met at Igwenagu’s drinking spot at Buduburam and planned the crime,” the prosecution told the court.
It said investigations revealed that Ikenna now at large, had agreed with Godfred Chukuebuka, aka, Caleb who had been convicted for 10 years by another Circuit Court for a similar offence.
The prosecution told the court that investigations also indicated that, “the suspects entered Ghana through unapproved routes with the intention to commit crime and go back”.
It said the police had received information that Ikenna was hiding in Nigeria, and that he had sent money – GH₵1,300 – as transportation for his wife (Emmanuella) to join him in Nigeria.
Source: GNA