Thursday, December 23, 2010

The Amina Mohammed case - Witness refuses bail but •••

Thursday, December 23, 2010 (Page 3)

A young man who said he was on a bus with Amina Mohammed and others when the alleged mass rape and robbery took place in October 2010 yesterday prayed the Accra Circuit Court to refuse him bail.
Michael Frimpong did not give any reason for his request but the presiding judge, Mr Kyei Baffour, declined his weird request and granted him bail in the sum of GH¢10,000 with three sureties.
The accused person, who has pleaded not guilty to one count of deceit of public officer, claimed that on the day of the said robbery, he could not have erection until he was hit with the butt of a gun that made him have sex with a 40-year-old woman.
When the matter was called in Accra yesterday, a State Attorney, Mr Paul A. Abariga, informed the court that the prosecution was not opposed to bail because investigations into the matter had been completed.
However, Michael shocked the court when he indicated he did not need bail. He said he wanted to be held in custody but the court held a different view and accordingly granted him bail.
Counsel for Amina Mohammed, Mr Andy Appiah-Kubi, however, alleged that Michael was a potential witness for Amina and was, therefore, being harassed by the police not to testify for Amina.
His claim has been described as false by Mr Abariga, who argued that it would be most unfortunate for the police to allow a criminal to walk the streets without being made to face the law.
The brief facts of the case were that the accused person went to the premises of a radio station in Achimota and pleaded for airtime to confirm Amina Mohammed’s claim that robbers attacked passengers when they reached Kintampo and that in the process, the robbers ordered a mass rape of female occupants of their bus.
According to the prosecution, the manager of the station did not give Michael the airtime and rather called the police who effected his (Michael’s) arrest.
The prosecution said Michael told the police during investigations that the bus he and Amina travelled on was a green OA bus but investigations later revealed that the said bus was rather an ash Yutong bus.
The prosecution further pointed out that Michael told investigators he had a ticket to prove he was on board the bus but he failed to produce the said ticket.
His case has been adjourned to January 17, 2011.
Meanwhile, Amina Mohammed, the woman at the centre of the rape and robbery story, has been charged with one count of publishing false news with intent to cause fear and panic.
She has pleaded not guilty and has been granted bail in the sum of GH¢5,000 with a surety.
Her trial has been adjourned to January 11, 2011.
The brief facts of Amina’s case were that she granted interviews to radio stations on October 26, 2010 and stated among other things that she was among passengers on a bus which was attacked by armed robbers when they reached Kintampo and that in the process the robbers ordered a mass rape of female occupants.
She was also quoted as saying a father was ordered to rape his 14-year-old daughter.
According to the prosecution, investigations revealed that such incident did not occur and said the driver of the said bus reported a case to the Ejisu Police and stated in his statement that his bus was nearly attacked by robbers at Kubease but he managed to escape although the windscreen of his vehicle was hit by a gunshot.
The prosecution further stated that the driver of the bus drove off 30 minutes after reporting the incident, which occurred at about 10 p.m. on October 11, 2010.

Osei-Adjei has no case to answer - Counsel

Wednesday, December 22, 2010 (Page 3 Lead)

COUNSEL for Akwasi Osei-Adjei, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs who is standing trial with another for allegedly causing financial loss to the state resulting from importation of rice from India, has argued that the state failed to make a case against his client to warrant the court to order him to open his defence.
In a written “submission of no case” filed on Osei-Adjei’s behalf by his lawyer, Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, yesterday, the defence argued that the prosecution’s assertion that Osei-Adjei and the former Managing Director of the National Investment Bank (NIB), Charles Daniel Gyimah, did not heed to the Public Procurement Act was false and out of place.
Osei-Adjei and Gyimah have been accused of wilfully causing financial loss to the state for allegedly acting together to steal 2,997 bags of rice, valued at US$1,408,590.
However, lawyers for the accused persons have argued that diplomatic efforts embarked upon by the accused persons to solve the food shortage in the country have been “criminalised”.
The two have been charged with eight counts of conspiracy, contravention of provisions of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663), using public office for profit, stealing and wilfully causing financial loss to the state.
They have pleaded not guilty to the charges and have been admitted to bail in the sum of GH¢200,000 with two sureties each to be justified.
According to Mr Dame, the Public Procurement Act did not apply in this case because public funds were not used to procure the rice.
The written address also stated that Osei-Adjei could not have stolen the rice because he and Gyimah had not been involved in the packaging, transportation and discharge of the rice.
It argued that the accused persons did not have access to the warehouse where the rice had been kept, adding that there was also no evidence on record to suggest that the rice had been diverted by the accused persons on the high seas.
The written address also pointed out that all the prosecution witnesses had informed the court during their testimonies that they (prosecution witnesses) had not seen the accused persons divert the rice.
The defence further argued that the government had kept the rice at the warehouse for seven months before releasing it to the NIB, pointing out that the delay in the release of the rice had led to the spoilage of some of it, thereby reducing its value.
It said the decision to keep the rice at the warehouse for seven months had nothing to do with the accused persons and, therefore, if any loss had resulted from the sale of the rice, that loss could not be linked to the accused persons.
It further argued that the accused persons had not been involved in the sale of the rice to cause any financial loss to the state.
The defence submitted further that the NIB had bought the rice and paid for it and, therefore, it belonged to the bank and not the government.
According to the written address, the accused persons did not have a hand in the storage of the rice which had resulted in a large chunk of it going bad due to poor storage.
The trial judge, Mr Justice Bright Mensah, directed counsel for Gyimah to file his written address on or before December 31, 2010, while the prosecution was directed to file its written address on or before January 26, 2011.
The prosecution called 17 witnesses in the trial which began in October 2009.
Hearing continues on January 26, 2011.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Mabel Aku Baneseh's World: Prosecution re-opens case in Ya-Na trial

Mabel Aku Baneseh's World: Prosecution re-opens case in Ya-Na trial

Robbery at Lighthouse Chapel pastor's house - 3 JAILED 132 YRS • Murder case pending

Tuesday, December 21, 2010 (Lead Story)

THREE robbers who confessed to killing a 26-year-old pastor of the Lighthouse Chapel in a robbery operation at Gbawe, a suburb of Accra, were yesterday sentenced to a total of 132 years for robbery.
The three — Yaw Asamoah, 30, Kofi Yeboah, 30, and Osei Prempeh, 23 — were sentenced to 22 years each on each count of conspiracy and robbery. The sentences are to run consecutively.
A fourth accomplice, Ebo Kwabena, 30, was sentenced earlier this year by the same court to 20 years’ imprisonment for conspiring with the others to rob a bank manager.
Asamoah was sentenced in absentia, having escaped from lawful custody around 8 a.m. on October 27, 2010 when he was being escorted to stand trial in another court for a robbery offence.
Two prison officers are currently standing trial for allegedly aiding his escape.
The presiding judge, Mrs Patience Mills-Tetteh, was of the view that the prosecution had proved the guilt of the convicts beyond reasonable doubt.
She held that robbery was a menace to society and it was important for the court to give them a deterrent sentence.
The convicts, on January 13, 2010, pleaded guilty to the crime but Asamoah, Yeboah and Prempeh changed their pleas on January 27, 2010, with the excuse that the police had coerced them to confess.
Ebo Kwabena, however, maintained his guilty plea and was accordingly convicted to 20 years’ imprisonment on two counts of conspiracy and robbery on January 27, 2010.
On January 13, 2010, the four convicts pleaded guilty and prayed the court to mete out harsh punishment to them for committing the heinous crime of killing the pastor.
The judge, however, reminded them that they were before her for robbery and not murder.
The court, upon hearing their plea, made an order that a pump action gun stolen from the banker and which was retrieved from the robbers should be handed over to the owner.
The brief facts of the case were that Asamoah and his accomplices, armed with a pistol, committed a string of robberies between November and December 2009 and in the process broke into the premises of their victims and made away with a pump action gun, one box of cartridges, car keys, laptops, some mobile phones and cash.
According to the police, Asamoah and his accomplices struck in December 2009, attacked residents of Gbawe, robbed them of their personal belongings and killed Pastor Nii Addy of the Lighthouse Chapel before fleeing to commit more robberies.
However, luck eluded them on January 6, 2010 when they were arrested following a tip-off while preparing to embark on another robbery expedition.

Monday, December 20, 2010

The Ya-Na trial • Court declines prosecution's request to re-open its case

Saturday, December 18, 2010 (Page 3 Lead)

THE Accra Fast Track High yesterday refused the state’s request to reopen its case in the trial of 15 persons accused of murdering Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II, the Overlord of Dagbon.
According to the court, the prosecution’s request to lead fresh evidence with the alleged recording of a confession by one of the accused persons, Alhassan Braimah, the sixth accused person who has been charged with conspiracy, did not fall within the law.
It further ruled that the said recording, which allegedly quoted Braimah as confessing to killing the Ya-Na, did not constitute a confession statement, in the first place, by judicial standards because it had been done when the accused person was not under any investigation for the murder of the Ya-Na.
The court further submitted that the accused person had also not been charged with any criminal offence at the time the said recording was done on another person’s handset.
The presiding judge, Mr Justice E.K. Ayebi, held that it was unfortunate for the prosecution to do piecemeal prosecution by not disclosing the full content of Braimah’s alleged confession statement, only to turn around, after closing its case, to request a reopen.
“The prosecution has all along in this trial failed to comply with the rules to make full disclosure. Today, it has inured to its disadvantage,” he held.
Touching on an affidavit in support of the prosecution’s request which stated, among others, that the police, as of October 2010, had the evidence that they were now seeking to introduce, the court queried why the prosecution had not introduced it and rather chose to close its case on November 5, 2010, only to come two days later requesting to introduce evidence it (prosecution) had access to in October 2010.
It was of the view that even if the prosecution’s request was granted, “the new evidence will not tilt in favour of the prosecution. It will also cause further delay in the trial for no reason”.
The affidavit in support of the prosecution’s application had stated, among others, that during investigations, the name of Nsoh kept cropping up and further investigations revealed that Yakubu Mohammed, alias Anafo, had, among other things, recorded a message from Braimah on his handset.
The message was to be given to Nsoh, who Alhassan claimed had given him and Yakubu some military training in Togo, after Yakubu had refused to give him (Alhassan) Nsoh’s phone number.
Questioning the rationale behind the recording, the court wondered why Anafo should record the said confession, instead of taking the said telephone number, adding, “Why did he preserve the message?”
“The police also said in the course of the investigations, the name of Nsoh kept coming up. What did they do about it? I am unable to use my discretion to grant the application. The application is dismissed,” Mr Justice Ayebi pointed out.
According to the court, the police investigators would have located the said Nsoh before starting the trial if they had “really” been interested in doing so, adding that it was obvious the police had access to the said recording well before the prosecution closed its case on November 5, 2010.
It further pointed out that the only evidence the prosecution had against Braimah was the fact that he was alleged to have been seen holding a machete on the day of the violence.
“Was the prosecution saying it was going to prefer murder charges against the accused person?” the court queried.
It said if that was the case, the prosecution knew the procedure, which included amending the charge sheet to lead fresh evidence which would cause more delay, to no avail.
The court, accordingly, upheld the objection of lead defence lawyer, Mr Philip Addison, who stated, among others, that there was complete lack of due diligence on the part of the prosecution because the evidence it now sought to adduce had been available to it at all material times since the trial began.
The prosecution would have called five witnesses, in addition to the 12 witnesses it had already called, if the court had granted its request.
Following the court’s ruling, Mr Addison is expected to file a written submission of ‘no case’ on or before January 10, 2011, while the prosecution is expected to file its response on or before January 20, 2011.
The case has been adjourned to January 31, 2011.
The other accused persons, who are alleged to have played various roles leading to the death of the Ya-Na, are Iddrisu Iddi, alias Mbadugu; Alhaji Baba Abdulai, alias Zohe; Kwame Alhassan, alias Achiri; Mohammed Abdulai, alias Samasama; Sayibu Mohammed; Alhassan Braima and Zakaria Yakubu, alias Zakaria Forest, who is currently on the run.
The rest are Mohammed Habib Tijani, the former District Chief Executive of Yendi; Baba Ibrahim, alias Baba Zey; Alhassan Mohammed, alias Mohammed Cheampon; Mohammed Mustapha; Shani Imoro; Yakubu Yusif, alias Leftee; Hammed Abukari Yussif and Abdul Razak Yussif, alias Nyaa Dagbani.
All the accused persons, except Zakaria Yakubu, have been charged with conspiracy to murder and have pleaded not guilty to the charge. Zakaria has been charged with murder.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Court decides on prosecution’s request

Thursday, December 16, 2010 (Page 51)

THE state’s request to reopen its case in the trial of 15 persons accused of murdering the Overlord of Dagbon, Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II, will be decided by the Accra Fast Track High Court on Friday.
The state is expected to call five witnesses should its request be granted by the court, presided over by Mr Justice E. K. Ayebi.
The court fixed the date after counsel for the accused persons, Mr Philip Addison, had advanced his arguments which stated, among others, that the state had not satisfied the court on the charges preferred against the accused persons, for which reason it was coming up with the new application to drag on the case.
According to him, the prosecution had failed to demonstrate with concrete evidence why it must be allowed to reopen its case and for that reason the court should not grant the wish.
The lead prosecutor, Mr Wiredu, had closed the case for the prosecution on November 5, 2010 but later indicated its intention to reopen it.
An affidavit in support of the prosecution’s request to reopen the case deposed to by the Director of Operations at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) at the Police Headquarters, DCOP Robert Ayalingo, said he supervised investigations and that as of October 2010 the police had the evidence that they were now seeking to introduce.
It said DCOP Ayalingo supervised investigations into the murder of the late Ya-Na Andani and stated that during investigations, the name of Nsoh kept cropping up and further investigations revealed that Yakubu Mohammed, alias Anafo, had, among other things, recorded a message from Alhassan Braimah, the sixth accused person, on his handset.
The message was to be given to Nsoh, whom Alhassan claimed had given him and Yakubu some military training in Togo, after Yakubu had refused to give him (Alhassan) Nsoh’s phone number.
In the recording, Alhassan Braimah, who has been charged with one count of conspiracy, was alleged to have confessed to killing the Ya-Na.
According to the prosecution, the message on the phone constituted a confession statement and was very significant to the case.
In a sharp response to the prosecution’s application to reopen the case, Mr Addison argued that there were only two people involved in the so-called recording, namely, Anafo and Braimah and, therefore, if the investigator said the name of Nsoh kept cropping up, his name might have been given to the investigator by Anafo.
“There is no information given to the court that there was any difficulty in getting the said Anafo and Nsoh who is alleged to be resident in Lome,” Mr Addison said.
He said there was complete lack of due diligence on the part of the prosecution because the evidence it now sought to adduce had been available to it at all material times since the trial began.
“Is the prosecution saying they have a recording of Braimah in which he is alleged to have confessed to the crime? Alhassan has been charged with conspiracy and not murder,” Mr Addison pointed out.
He said for the prosecution to say it had a confession from Braimah indicated that it was bringing a fresh case altogether when it had already called 12 witnesses in the case.
“To reopen the case and call five more witnesses means the prosecution seeks to contradict the 12 witnesses called so far,” Mr Addison said, and further argued that Braimah was not on trial for murder and so any alleged self confessions would further lead to embarrassment and a delay of the trial.
He further argued that Braimah was also not mentioned at the Wuaku Commission at all, adding that the alleged recording was done at a time Braimah was not under any investigations and, therefore, it could not amount to a confession statement.
The prosecution has so far called 12 witnesses in the case in which the 15 persons are standing trial for playing various roles resulting in the murder of the Ya-Na.
The accused persons are Iddrisu Iddi, alias Mbadugu; Alhaji Baba Abdulai, alias Zohe; Kwame Alhassan, alias Achiri; Mohammed Abdulai, alias Samasama; Sayibu Mohammed; Alhassan Braima and Zakaria Yakubu, alias Zakaria Forest, who is currently on the run.
The rest are Mohammed Habib Tijani, the former District Chief Executive of Yendi; Baba Ibrahim, alias Baba Zey; Alhassan Mohammed, alias Mohammed Cheampon; Mohammed Mustapha; Shani Imoro; Yakubu Yusif, alias Leftee; Hammed Abukari Yussif and Abdul Razak Yussif, alias Nyaa Dagbani.
All the accused persons, except Zakaria Yakubu, have been charged with conspiracy to murder and have pleaded not guilty to the charge. Zakaria has been charged with murder.

Govt, Kosmos resolve issues

Wednesday, December 15, 2010 (Back Page Lead)

GHANA has more to celebrate for its oil find following the amicable resolution of differences between the government and Kosmos Energy, one of the partners in the Jubilee Oilfields.
According to the Minister of Energy, Dr Joe Oteng-Agyei, issues pertaining to data disclosure on the oilfields to more than 17 companies by Kosmos Energy without government’s consent, as well as spillage of low toxicity crude on the high seas by the company, had all been settled.
There had also been a stalemate between the government and Kosmos over the company’s decision to sell its shares to Exxonmobil of the USA but that issue was no longer relevant following Kosmos’s decision not to sell its shares, the Energy Minister stated in an interview with the Daily Graphic.
He, however, declined to give details of the resolution, as well as the dates on which the issues were straightened out.
“It is not the best to disclose all those details after fruitful ongoing negotiations. We will breach the outcome of the negotiations which are ongoing. What is important is that there is no problem between Kosmos Energy and the government right now,” Dr Oteng-Agyei emphasised.
Ghana will today join the league of oil-producing countries when President J.E.A. Mills presses the knob to pave the way for the production of oil which was discovered in commercial quantities in June 2007.
Dr Oteng-Agyei said 55,000 barrels of crude will be produced in a day over a period of six to 10 months, adding that the production would gradually increase to 120,000 barrels a day over the next couple of years.
He gave the assurance that the government had put in place measures to ensure that the revenue generated was prudently used to develop the country for the benefit of all Ghanaians.
He said the government would also ensure that oil companies complied with the laws of the country and protected the environment, adding, “We, as a government, will uphold the rights of investors and deal with them in transparency, honesty and integrity.”
Kosmos Energy and its partners discovered oil in commercial quantities at West Cape Three Points in June 2007. The other partners in the Jubilee Oilfields are Tullow Oil Ghana Limited, Anadarko, Sabre Oil, the GNPC and the E. O. Group.
More discoveries have been made, aside from the Jubilee Oilfields, and due to the billions of dollars needed in the development of these oilfields, their exploitation will be carried out in phases.

Court decides fate of Onetouch Jan 20

Wednesday, December 15, 2010 (Page 3)

THE Accra Circuit Court will, on January 20, 2011, decide the guilt or otherwise of the Founder and General Overseer of the Jesus Blood Prophetic Ministry, Prophet Nana Kofi Yirenkyi, aka Prophet Onetouch, who has been accused of defiling his daughter.
The court, presided over by Mrs Georgina Mensah-Datsa, fixed the date after lead counsel for the accused person, Mr K. N. Adomako Acheampong, had announced that the defence team had closed its case.
Mr Acheampong made the announcement after a Chief State Attorney, Ms Helen Kwawukume, had cross-examined the Station Officer at the Akropong Police Station, Inspector Mohammed Ali Balah, who had, in his evidence, said on March 2, 2010, the complainant, Madam Bernice Owiredua Asamaa, the victim and her aunt had come to the Akropong-Akwapim Divisional Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) to lodge a complaint about the alleged incest.
After announcing to the court that the defence had closed its case, Mr Acheampong said the defence would file its written address on December 24, 2010.
Ms Kwawukume, for her part, said she would file her response to the defence’s address on January 13, 2011.
After the parties had agreed on the dates, the trial judge then fixed January 20, 2011 as the date for judgement in the trial which has lasted nearly 11 months.
Prophet Onetouch has pleaded not guilty to one count of incest and rather accused a former watchman of his of defiling the victim.
He has since been refused bail by the circuit court.
In his evidence-in-chief, Inspector Balah said he was on duty when the complainant made the complaint and as a result he had come to Accra to arrest the accused but did not find him. However, the Odorkor Police Command agreed to arrest him.
Inspector Balah said on March 4, 2010, he sent the accused to the Akropong-Akwapim Police Station, where there was a meeting among the accused, the complainant, himself (Inspector Balah), the Akropong Divisional Commander of Police, Mina Ayim, and others.
He said at the meeting, the complainant told DCOP Ayim that the victim had told her aunt that the accused had been defiling her for the past two years, but the accused person denied and said it was one Efo who had confessed to him (accused) that he had inserted his fingers into victim’s vagina, for which reason the accused called the complainant to inform her and asked her to question the victim about it.
According to Inspector Balah, when DCOP Ayim enquired from the complainant about the truth in what the accused had said, she (complainant) admitted that it was true.
After the meeting, the accused was sent back to the Mampong-Akwapim Police Station cells.
Answering questions under cross-examination from Ms Kwawukume, the witness said he had assisted to build the docket on the case.
He said he had been subpoenaed to testify in the case and explained that he chose to be an independent witness to the accused person on the grounds that there had been nobody around to be an independent witness when he was taking statements from the accused person.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

No end for Ataa Ayi

December 11, 2010 (Front Page)

GHANA’S most notorious armed robber, Raymond Aryee Aryeetey, alias Ataa Ayi, made another appearance in court yesterday to receive a 40-year jail sentence in addition to the 70-year jail term he is already serving for robbery.
A pale figure of how he looked four years ago, Ataa Ayi, 39, was found guilty on charges of conspiracy and robbery to serve the 40-year sentence with hard labour with effect from the day he completes his 70-year jail term.
He was sentenced with six others to a total of 260 years’ imprisonment for robbing a businesswoman of $65,000 and GH¢4,500 in February 2003.
The trial judge, Mr Justice P. Baffoe-Bonnie, a Supreme Court judge, had imposed the 70-year jail term on Ataa Ayi and his accomplices in 2006, after he had been nabbed in February 2005 for committing a string of robberies.
Four of his accomplices, namely, Raymond Ameh, Frederick Lamptey Annan, alias Nuumo, Kwabla Agbodogah, alias Rojay, and Samuel Kwaku Annan, alias Sammy Tugah, were also sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment each.
Annan, Agbodogah and Ameh are already serving 69 years’ imprisonment each.
The court, however, sentenced two other accomplices, Nana Osei Razak and Nana Yaw Owusu, who confessed in March and July 2005, respectively, to conspiring with Ataa Ayi and the rest of the convicts to commit the robbery, to 30 years’ imprisonment.
The trial suffered a setback when Ataa Ayi, Owusu, Annan, Agbodogah and Tugah denied confessing to committing the crimes to the police. A mini trial was held in the process.
The prosecution called witnesses following the denial by the convicts that they had confessed to any wrongdoing to the police, with the explanation that they had been made to admit their caution statements under extreme duress, intimidation and threats of harm.
After the back-and-forth movements, the court gave its judgement in the presence of the prosecutor of the case, Mr Asiamah Sampong. Defence lawyers were absent.
Ataa Ayi and the other convicts who are in their 30s looked indifferent, as if to say, “We are condemned and have nothing to lose.”
Nuumo was assisted by prison guards to walk because sources said he had suffered a stroke in prison.
In March 2006, there had been a twist in the case when Razak confessed to committing the offence with the other convicts and said he had received $5,000 and GH¢200 after the robbery.
Another accomplice, Nana Yaw Owusu, had also confessed on July 4, 2005 to having committed the offence but explained that those he had committed the offence with were not those he was standing trial with.
Owusu had informed the court that the Ataa Ayi he had committed the offence with was not the Ataa Ayi in the dock along with him.
They were, therefore, convicted on the charges of conspiracy and robbery and their sentences deferred till yesterday.
The court, after the full trial, was of the view that the prosecution had proved the guilt of the accused persons beyond reasonable doubt and sentenced them accordingly.
Ataa Ayi and the three others — Samuel Kweku Annan, Agbodogah and Ameh — had, on February 27, 2006, been sentenced to a total of 277 years’ imprisonment with hard labour by the same court.
They had been convicted on two counts of conspiracy and robbing Prism Forex Bureau at Dzorwulu of GH¢7,000 at gunpoint on October 14, 2003.
In September 2008, Ataa Ayi and three others, namely, Sarfo Sarpong, Michael Tagoe and Nana Osei Razak, had been found guilty of raiding the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) at gunpoint on May 19, 2004 and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment each.

Two cops jailed for robbery

December 9, 2010 (Front Page)

THE Accra Fast Track High Court yesterday sentenced two police officers to a total of 20 years’ imprisonment for robbing a Belgian national at Achimota, a suburb of Accra, on March 19, 2010.
The convicts, General Corporal David Koomson, 33, and Lance Corporal Franklin Turkson, 28, and two of their colleagues who are currently on the run were said to have assaulted the Belgian and in the process robbed him of his gold watch worth $25,000, cash of $5,000 and GH¢700, as well as his iPhone cellular phone worth $1,000.
Koomson, who was from the Panthers Unit and attached to the Flagstaff House, was said to have abandoned his guard post at 8 a.m. to commit the robbery.
The accomplices on the run are General Constable Isaac Shiburah and General Constable Edward Opoku.
Three other accomplices whose names were not provided to the court are also on the run.
Koomson and Turkson, who told the Belgian they were from the national security outfit before committing the offence, were convicted on two counts of conspiracy and robbery and were sentenced accordingly.
Each of them was sentenced to three years on the count of conspiracy and 10 years on the count of robbery. The sentences are to run concurrently.
The court, presided over by Mr Justice Senyo Dzamefe, a Court of Appeal judge with additional responsibility as a High Court judge, said the prosecution was able to prove the guilt of the accused persons beyond reasonable doubt.
He said the 11 prosecution witnesses were able to lead evidence to warrant the conviction of the accused, adding that the complainant was able to identify the convicts, to the extent of describing a scar on Turkson’s arm.
According to the court, the prosecution was able to prove that the convicts and their accomplices met and hatched a plan to rob the Belgian.
The convicts and their families looked sorrowful when judgement was passed.
The facts of the case were that the complainant, who was based in the United States of America (USA), arrived in the country to purchase gold.
According to the prosecution, two civilians picked him up from his hotel and informed him that they were taking him to a gold refinery.
On reaching a point at Achimota, Koomson and Turkson, together with the others on the run, alighted from a black VW Golf car, with registration number AS 3115 T, ordered the Belgian to get down from the vehicle and in the process handcuffed him, beat him up and took away his money and other valuables.
After robbing the Belgian, the convicts and their accomplices fled, leaving the Belgian to his fate. The Belgian managed to stop a taxi and the driver took him to a private radio station where an announcement on the robbery was made.
The convicts were arrested barely six hours after the robbery. Turkson was said to have confessed to have committed the crime and mentioned Koomson and others as his accomplices.

No military here - Court directs at Mobilla trial

December 8, 2010 (Page 3 Lead)

THE Accra Fast Track High Court yesterday directed the Military High Command to transfer, with immediate effect, the two soldiers who are alleged to have murdered Alhaji Issa Mobilla from military custody into prison custody.
The court warned that it would have no option but cite military personnel for contempt if they escorted Corporal Yaw Appiah and Private Eric Modzaka to court on the next adjourned date.
According to the court, it was not fair for the accused persons to be escorted to court by military personnel, in contravention of a March 24, 2009 order by the Tamale High Court for their detention in prison custody, when the police usually obeyed court orders.
The two and Private Seth Goka, who is on the run, were alleged to have murdered Alhaji Mobilla, who was the Northern Regional Chairman of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), on December 9, 2004.
Appiah and Modzaka have pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy and murder, while Goka is being tried in absentia.
Reminding the Military High Command of the Tamale High Court order which remanded the two into custody, the court was of the view that as far as it was concerned, there was no other order reversing the directive by the Tamale High Court.
The trial judge, Mr Justice Senyo Dzamefe, a Court of Appeal judge sitting with additional responsibility as a High Court judge, accordingly urged an Army lieutenant who had led the military escorts to inform his superiors of the court’s directive.
The court had earlier directed the prosecution and the defence teams to file their addresses on whether the trial should continue or start afresh following the recovery of the foreman of the seven-member jury who had suffered a stroke in the course of the trial.
The foreman, who had been replaced with another juror, recuperated before the trial resumed and for that reason a Chief State Attorney, Ms Penelope Marmattah, prayed the court to continue hearing the case.
However, counsel for the accused persons, Mr Thaddeus Sory, objected to the continuation of the case and prayed the court to start hearing it afresh.
Following Mr Sory’s objection, the trial judge gave the prosecution and the defence up to Tuesday, December 14, 2010 to file their addresses.
The trial judge was also expected to decide whether or not he would continue hearing the matter, following an objection from Mr Sory who prayed the judge to step aside following his promotion to the Court of
Appeal.
According to Mr Sory, the judge had failed to produce any document to prove that the Chief Justice had appointed him (trial judge) to hear the matter afresh.
The facts of the case are that Alhaji Mobilla was arrested by the police on December 9, 2004 for allegedly supplying the youth in Tamale with guns to foment trouble.
While he was in custody, the police claimed that they received information that his followers and sympathisers were mobilising to free him. The deceased was consequently transferred from police cells to the Kamina Military Barracks and handed him over to the three accused persons.
According to the prosecution, Alhaji Mobila died in military custody three hours after he had been handed over to the accused persons who were on duty that day.
The chief pathologist’s report revealed that the deceased was sent to the hospital dead and that he died from multiple wounds.

£110 million pounds recovered from Internet fraudsters

Monday, December 6, 2010 (Page 54)

ONE hundred and ten million pound sterling was recovered from Internet fraudsters between 2007 and the last quarter of 2010, while 12,000 fraudulent e-mails were intercepted during the same period.
The amount, which would have been lost by individuals the world over, was recovered through the joint efforts of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of Nigeria and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), Europe.
Within the period, the two bodies also intercepted 3,870 scam e-mails from reaching potential victims and managed to alert 700,000 potential victims who could have lost millions of dollars.
A Principal Staff Officer of the EFCC, Mr Bala Sanga, disclosed this at a press conference after a three-day summit on cybercrime in Abuja, Nigeria.
More than 300 delegates, mainly law enforcement personnel from 15 West African countries, Europe and the United States of America (USA), attended the summit on the theme: "The Fight against Cybercrime: Towards Innovative and Sustainable Economic Development".
It was organised by the EFCC in collaboration with Microsoft and the United Nations Office on Organised Crime (UNODC).
The event was hosted by the EFCC in conjunction with Microsoft, the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) with the Council of Europe, International Police Organisation (INTERPOL) and SOCA participating.
Explaining further, Mr Sanga said the EFCC had also set up a transaction clearing platform to provide basic due diligence, which includes the profitability of a business proposal, track record of the solicitor of the business, as well as the identity and existence of the business to enable investors to make informed decisions.
According to Mr Sanga, the bureau was set up to provide free services to potential investors who had received business proposals.
Mr Sanga urged African governments to be on the alert and flush out these criminals whose activities were tarnishing the image of the continent.
The Citizenship Programme Manager of Microsoft West and Central Africa, Dr (Mrs) Jummmai Umar-Ajijola, urged all stakeholders to be on deck to fight cyber crime to the barest minimum.
She said there was a programme in place to divert the attention of the youth from cyber crime to productive ventures, adding that Microsoft had so far signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Nigerian government to, among other things, check child pornography on the Internet.
The Officer in charge of Conference Support Section, Focal Point for Cyber Crime, Organised Crime and Illicit Trafficking Branch of the UNODC, Ms Gillian S. Murray, said 3,000 child pornography websites were currently in existence.
She said the UNODC was making inroads into the fight against child pornography and exploitation and accordingly advised parents and teachers to join the fight.
The Director in charge of Digital Crimes Unit, Legal and Corporate Affairs of Microsoft, Europe, Middle East and Africa gave the assurance that Microsoft would continue to support the fight against cyber crime.

'Sakawa' calls for teamwork

Friday, December 3, 2010 (Front Page)

Story: Mabel Aku Baneseh, Abuja
THE Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of Nigeria, Mrs Farida Waziri, has appealed to governments in the sub-region to devise means of sharing information on the movement and activities of cyber criminals in the region.
According to her, it was easier to solicit and share information on cyber crimes and other criminal activities from security agencies in developed countries than in West Africa and Africa as a whole.
The woman behind the crack-down on corrupt public officials in Nigeria, many of whom are serving prison terms, said “there is the need for free-flow of information and intelligence from all security agencies in order to combat crime effectively on the continent”.
“Currently, we do not even know who to contact for information when the need arises. This is serious because the criminals are getting smarter, sophisticated and proactive,” Mrs Waziri said in an exclusive interview with the Daily Graphic in Abuja, Nigeria.
She said criminals were getting more sophisticated each day and were collaborating with each other to commit more sophisticated crimes, and stressed the need for collaboration to fight them back.
She suggested the formation of a forum where information on criminal activities would be shared on a daily basis to protect the region from criminals.
“If we sit inactive, we would be taken by events. It is important we do not sit, wait and take action only after the criminals strike. We must strike first,” Mrs Waziri emphasised.
Touching on the EFCC’s fight against crime, she said the Commission had made tremendous progress in the fight against corruption to the extent that most suspects had either been convicted or were currently standing trial.
She also disclosed that some foreign companies operating in Nigeria were currently being investigated for allegedly paying bribes to public officials in order to secure contracts.
The EFCC, in conjunction with Microsoft, is currently organising a West African Cyber Crime Summit on the theme: "The Fight Against Cyber Crime: Towards Innovative and Sustainable Economic Development.”
More than 300 delegates, mainly law enforcement personnel from 10 West African countries, are attending the three-day summit.
The objectives of WACCS are to position the fight against cyber crime as a national priority to help the economic development of the region, provide a platform to develop capacity building with scalable and sustainable solutions, strengthen trust by developing partnerships among various stakeholders at the national and international level, and showcase best practices and case studies of partner organisations in combating cyber crime
The other organisers of the summit are the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) with the Council of Europe, International Police Organisation (INTERPOL) and Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) in attendance.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Ghana, Nigeria in world 419 ranking

Thursday, December 2, 2010 (Front Page, Daily Graphic)

The world loses $557 million annually to cyber crime, with Ghana now ranked among the top 10 countries in the world where the crime, popularly known as 419, is most prevalent.

Two other West African countries, namely, Nigeria and Cameroun, are also among the top 10 countries, according to the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) of Nigeria, Mrs Farida Waziri.

Nigeria, by far, leads the African group with eight per cent rate of the crime, followed by Ghana and Cameroun with 0.7 and 0.6 per cent, respectively.

The United States tops the world with 65 per cent, followed by the United Kingdom, 9.9 per cent, and Nigeria's eight per cent.

Others are Canada, 2.2 per cent; Malaysia, seven per cent; Ghana 0.7 per cent; South Africa, 0.7 per cent; Spain, 0.7 per cent, and Cameroon, 0.6 per cent.

"Although we contribute an insignificant portion to cyber crime, that is unjustifiable because any level of criminality cannot be accepted," the EFCC Chairman stated.

Mrs Waziri was speaking at the opening ceremony of the first West African Cyber Crime Summit (WACCS) which is currently going on in Abuja, Nigeria.

More than 300 delegates, mainly law enforcement personnel, from 10 West African countries are attending the three-day workshop which is on the theme, "The Fight against Cyber Crime: Towards Innovative and Sustainable Economic Development."

The objectives of WACCS are to position the fight against cyber crime as a national priority to help the economic development of the region, provide a platform to develop capacity building with scalable and sustainable solutions and strengthen trust by developing partnerships among various stakeholders at the national and international level.

The summit is also expected to showcase best practices and case studies of partner organisations in combating cyber crime.

The event is being hosted by the EFCC, in collaboration with Microsoft, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), with the participation of the Council of Europe, the International Police Organisation (INTERPOL) and the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).

Mrs Waziri pointed out that the $557 million was the recorded figure from reported cases, adding that the figure could run into billions of dollars if most victims reported cyber crimes.

She explained that most victims shied away from reporting their losses to the authorities for fear of being branded greedy, gullible or stupid.

She said the goal of West African governments should be to ensure that their countries dropped out of the top 10.

She also hinted that there was a gradual movement of cyber criminals from Nigeria to neighbouring West African States.

Mrs Waziri, therefore, urged political leadership across West Africa to adopt common measures and strategies for combating cyber crime, which was gradually creeping into other West African countries.

The Vice-President of Nigeria, Dr Mohammed Namadi Sambo, in a speech read on his behalf, stated that as a follow-up to the summit, the Nigerian government would collaborate with stakeholders in the sub-region with a view to anticipating and pro actively outlining policy initiatives to fight cyber crime.

For his part, the General Manager of Microsoft Anglophone West Africa, Mr Emmanuel Onyeje, urged banks, schools, health care institutions, among others, to find innovative ways of fighting cyber crime, since it affected people from all walks of life.

Representatives from the UNODC, the Ministry of Justice, the Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics, Financial Crimes and Anti-corruption, ECOWAS, among others, pledged their readiness to help fight cyber crime.