An Accra Circuit Court has remanded five people, including a pregnant woman, into police custody for their alleged involvement in the December 9, 2022, robbery of a Chinese national at Caprice in Accra.
They are accused of stealing GH410,000, $8,000, and two iPhones from a Chinese woman.
Prince Anthony Chiobi, Izichuku Igwenagu, Emmanuella Chinwetalu, the pregnant lady, Martin Ahamafula Onwukwa, and Godfred Chukuebuka, aka, Caleb are the accused.
Yaw John Darko Ikenna, the sixth accused, is said to be on the run.
The five accused have been charged with robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery.
Mrs Susana Eduful presided over the court, which did not hear their pleas pending further investigation.
They are scheduled to return on December 28, 2022.
The prosecution, led by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Seth Frimpong, opposed bail, claiming that granting bail would impede investigations.
ASP Frimpong stated that the Police needed more information from Emmanuella, the third accused person, who is married to Ikenna and is currently at large.
He requested that the accused be held in custody for one week.
Another prosecutor, ASP Emmanuel Haligah, told the court that the Police managed to arrest the accused persons despite the risk to their lives and that they had extended their investigations into other locations because some of the accused persons were said to belong to a group of robbers who allegedly travelled to Ghana to rob and flee the jurisdiction.
According to him, the Police had information that Ikenna had sent money to Emmanuella in order for her to leave the country.
The defence counsel, Edward Nana Asare, urged the court to grant bail to the accused, particularly Emmanuella, who was heavily pregnant and required special care.
“My Lady, the cops are attempting to use her as bait to apprehend Ikenna.”
Nana Asare stated that there was no evidence that any of the accused persons were involved in the robbery.
He drew the court’s attention to the Police’s claim that some robbers had travelled to Ghana, committed robbery, and then fled, implying that his clients were not among them.
In its decision, the Court denied bail.
It was decided that Emmanuella, who appeared to be pregnant, should be provided with basic necessities while detained.
On December 9, 2022, the Accra Regional Police Command received information that some armed men on motorcycles had attacked, shot, and robbed a Chinese woman of some valuables in Caprice, an Accra suburb.
It stated that upon receiving the information, the Regional Police dispatched officers to the scene to ascertain the facts and conduct an investigation.
According to the prosecution, the victim informed the police that the robbers took her GH370,000, which she had cashed earlier that day from the Standard Chartered Bank, West Hills Mall branch.
The prosecution also stated the victim stated that she also had GH40,000 and $8,000 in cash, as well as two stolen iPhones (iPhone 11 and 8+).
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,” according to the statement.
According to the prosecution, when the police arrived, the robbers engaged them in a shootout, resulting in the deaths of Nneji Harrison Ogbona and another.
“Some of the suspects in court were apprehended later, while others escaped. “During the course of the investigation, it was discovered that the suspects met at Igwenagu’s drinking spot in Buduburam and plotted the crime,” the prosecution told the court.
Investigations revealed that Ikenna, who is still at large, had agreed with Godfred Chukuebuka, alias Caleb, who had been sentenced to ten years in prison 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 a crime and go back”.
According to the report, the police received information that Ikenna was hiding in Nigeria and that he had sent money – GH1,300 – as transportation for his wife (Emmanuella) to join him.
