Two notorious armed robbers and their abettor have each been sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment in hard labour for robbing assorted drinks retailer at Mamprobi in Accra.
The two robbers, Hafiz Ali alias Bring the money and Yakubu Shaibu alias Jelilu, were hauled before the court in 2015 for conspiracy to rob and robbery charges while the third convict, Emmanuel Laryea, was standing trial for abetment of robbery.
Three other suspects who are said to have participated in the robbery are still at large.
They had pleaded not guilty to all the charges levelled against them.
The court, presided over by Aboagye Tandoh, said the pleas of the accused persons were contrary to the caution statement they had given the police, where they admitted committing the crime when they were arrested.
He said the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that the three convicts had actually committed the crimes for which they were arrested and arraigned before the court.
Mr. Tandoh, taking into consideration the time the three had spent in custody during the trial and the plea of their counsel to temper justice with mercy, slapped the three with the sentence saying, “The evidence available shows that Hafiz Ali and Yakubu were notorious armed robbers.
“It is important for them to disappear from society for the safety of the people. I therefore sentence you to 25 years’ imprisonment for both charges to run concurrently.
“As for the third accused person (Emmanuel Laryea), the least said about him the better. For you to have allowed yourself to be a sell-out to the detriment of your colleagues, I sentence you to 25 years’ imprisonment in hard labour.”
The facts of the case as presented to the court by Chief Superintendent Kwaku Bempah are that on July 18, 2013, the staff of Kwaku Swanzy Enterprise Limited, a retailer of assorted drinks at Mamprobi in Accra, were busily working when six armed men on two motorbikes stormed the company’s premises.
They then ordered all the workers around the gate to get into the company’s premises and further ordered all the workers to lie on the floor.
The robbers then shot the security man on duty and ransacked all the offices of the company and stole about GH¢3,710.
The security man was rushed to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital but later died while receiving treatment for gunshot wounds.
An autopsy conducted on the body concluded that he died of massive right subdural haemorrhage consistent with gunshot injury to the head.
Emmanuel Laryeah, a staff of the company, was subsequently arrested after a CCTV recording showed him leading the robbers to the offices of the company.
Chief Inspector Bempah added that upon a tipoff, Yakubu Shaibu was arrested at Zongo Junction, near Abossey Okai in Accra, whilst Hafiz was identified by a staff of the complainant’s company and was subsequently arrested.
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