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Three jailed 60 years for car robbery
An Accra Circuit Court has sentenced three persons to 20 years imprisonment each for robbing a taxi driver of his vehicle at Airport Residential Area, Accra.
The Convicts were said to have held Eric Appiah’s (the complainant) neck and assaulted him mercilessly until he fell unconscious, tied him up with a robe and they bolted with the taxi.
Yaw Asamoah, a 43-year-old labourer, Yaw Appiah, a 27-year-old phone repairer, and John Chinedu, were found guilty on the charges of conspiracy to commit crime namely robbery and robbery.
The Court presided over by Mrs Evelyn Asamoah sentenced the three accused persons to 15 years imprisonment on the charge of conspiracy to commit crime namely robbery.
On the charge of robbery, the accused are to serve 20 years each. Sentences will however run concurrently.
Charles Oduro, aka Ayensu, a building contractor who was in the dock with the convicts, was however acquitted and discharged.
Prosecuting Police Chief Inspector Emmanuel Haligah said the complainants were Policemen stationed at the Regional Police headquarters, Accra.
Accused persons reside at Shaishie and Madina in Accra respectively.
Police Chief Inspector Haligah said on January 30, last year, the Accra Regional CID operation team received information that the accused persons had robbed a taxi driver of his Toyota Vitz car with registration number GW 9145-19 and were going to sell same to someone at Dansoman.
Prosecution said the Police team trailed the said car and intercepted it at Dansoman roundabout, heading towards the Carl Reindolf Park.
According to prosecution, Asamoah, Appiah, Chinedu and one other identified later as Shortman, tried to escape on seeing the Police; got out of the car and took to their heels.
Prosecution said the convicts were arrested by the Police and Shortman who was then driving the stolen car, was shot in an attempt to arrest him.
Chief Haligah said Shortman were rushed to the Police Hospital for treatment but he was later pronounced dead.
During interrogation, prosecution said the three convicts mentioned one Ayensu and Danso as those who gave them the vehicle at Teshie on January, 30, last year at about 1:00am to be given to a buyer at Dansoman.
The prosecutor said the three convicts failed to assist the Police to arrest one Ayensu and Danso.
Prosecution said investigation caution statements were taken from them.
However, prosecution said on February 3, last year, Ayensu was arrested and he denied having handed over the car to the three convicts.
Prosecution said a police wireless message was sent to all stations about the retrieval of the Toyota Vitz with registration number GW 9145- 19.
On February 8, last year, Eric Appiah a taxi driver together with an investigator from Airport Police came to the Regional CID, Accra and Eric Appiah identified the vehicle as his.
Prosecution said investigations revealed that the three convicts and one Shortman, now deceased on January 29, last year at about 11:30 pm hired the taxi driver to take them to the Old Chinese Embassy located at Airport Residential Area.
The Prosecutor said on reaching a spot near the Old Chinese Embassy, the convicts asked the driver to stop.
Accused alighted and Shortman pretended to be paying Eric Appiah the fare, but suddenly one of the convicts held Eric Appiah’s neck and assaulted him mercilessly until he fell unconscious, tied him up with a robe and bolted with the taxi. -GNA
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Focus on more pressing issues like Galamsey, not hate speech – Ellen Ama Daaku to Mahama
An aide to former Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia,Ellen Ama Daaku has advised President John Dramani Mahama to shift his attention from social media hate speech to more urgent national issues such as illegal mining.
Speaking in an interview, she noted that the President’s recent comments about tracking the IP addresses of people who spread hate speech were unnecessary.
According to her, President Mahama must first define what he considers to be hate speech before seeking to punish people for it.
Ms. Daaku argued that the President himself had benefitted from hate speech and social media attacks in the past when he was in opposition.
She said even during his time in government, he described his opponents and their tribesmen in unpalatable terms, which later drew complaints from former President Nana Akufo-Addo to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
She stressed that harsh criticism of leaders on social media should not automatically be considered hate speech, adding that former leaders, including former President Nana Akufo-Addo had all been subjected to it.
“He is only feeling what Nana Akufo-Addo went through for eight years,” she remarked.
While acknowledging the need to regulate misconduct online, Ms. Daaku insisted that going after social media activists should not be a priority.
She noted that many political activists, including herself, had been insulted and attacked online but never called for arrests.
She concluded that President Mahama should focus his energy on solving pressing problems such as galamsey and the economy instead of concentrating on critics on social media.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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Prof Alidu Seidu files nomination for Tamale Central seat
The newly elected parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Tamale Central, Prof Alidu Seidu, has submitted his nomination forms to the Electoral Commission.
As of 10:00 a.m. today, he was the only person who had filed to contest the seat.
Nomination of candidates will close at the end of the day.
Associate Professor and Head of the Political Science Department at the University of Ghana Legon, Prof. Alidu Seidu won the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primaries in the Tamale Central constituency with a landslide victory.
The elections, supervised by the party’s Elections and IT Directorate in the Northern Region, saw Prof. Seidu poll 840 votes out of the total valid ballots cast.
His closest contender, Lawyer Hanan Gundadow Abdul-Rahaman, secured 536 votes.
The other aspirants could not make significant gains, with Dr. Seidu Fiter obtaining 44 votes, Aliu Abdul-Hamid 23 votes, and the rest recording fewer than 10 votes each.
In all, 1,500 ballots were cast, with 6 ballots rejected and 7 spoilt ballots recorded.
The results were signed and declared by Dr. Arnold Mashud Abukari, NDC Northern Regional Director of Elections and IT.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) held parliamentary primaries in Tamale Central to choose a candidate for the upcoming by-election following the death of the sitting Member of Parliament, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed. Dr. Mohammed, who also served as Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, tragically died in a military helicopter crash in the Adansi Akrofuom District on August 6, 2025, alongside seven others.
His passing left the Tamale Central seat vacant, as required by Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
The Electoral Commission has scheduled the by-election for September 30, 2025. While the NDC moved quickly to open nominations and vet aspirants, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) announced it would not contest the seat, citing the need to respect the somber circumstances and promote national unity.
By: Jacob Aggrey
