Bullion Van Robbery Case: Latest Details Revealed

Six defendants accused of attacking a bullion truck in Accra have had their bail application denied by an Accra Circuit Court six times in the past seven months.

In order to wait for the Attorney General's recommendation, the court presided over by Mrs Patricia Amponsah, denied the request for bail.

As a result, the trial judge postponed the case until September 20.

The court was informed by Police Inspector Isaac Babayi, who served in the capacity of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sylvester Asare, that he was to request an adjournment so that the substantive prosecutor could show up at the subsequent adjourned date and update the court on the scope of the case's investigations.

On Thursday when the case was called, the defence attorneys alternated in asking for bail for their respective clients.

The defence attorneys for the accused said that the prosecution's constant use of justifications gave the impression that they were uninterested in the case.

The attorneys countered, "We will resubmit our motion for bail since the accused men were in jail.

Defence attorneys said that their clients had been detained for the previous seven months and that the court had previously denied their bail requests five times.

General Constables Yaro Afisu Ibrahim, Albert Ofosu, also known as "Cypher," Richard Boadu, also known as "Osor," Rabiu Jambedu, Nelson Tetteh, and Badu Zakari—all fresh police recruits—as well as Baba Zakari, also known as Rasta, a mechanic working for a private company—are the defendants.

They are accused of robbery and conspiring to rob. The many accusations against the accused have been refuted. Additionally, the prosecution forwarded a duplicate to the Attorney General's Office for comment.

The prosecution said that while Zakaria is a mechanic, General Constables Yaro, Fosu, Boadu, Rabiu, and Tettey are recruited, friends and comrades.

The Greater Accra Region saw a number of bullion van and street thefts in 2021, which led the Ghana Police Service to increase monitoring.

The prosecution claimed that on February 22, 2022, an investigation led to the arrest of one Constable Reindolph Gyimah Ansah alias Pablo and Lance Corporal Stephen Nyame, both of whom were later found dead, following a tip that those armed men had attacked a bullion van with the registration number GN 424-14 in North Kaneshie.

It claimed that additional investigations resulted in the arrest of the defendants.

According to the prosecution, the Constables, including the murdered policemen, were sent to the National SWAT Unit at Police headquarters after completing their first training, while Tettey was assigned to the Rapid Deployment Force (RDF), Wa.

The Court was informed that Yaro, Fosu, Rabiu, and Tettey undertook tactical and specialized firearm training before being deployed to their respective Units in order to prepare them for those Units' duties, which included the escort and security of Bullion Vans.

Further investigations showed that the accused, including their murdered coworkers and those still at large, conspired to attack and attempt to loot the Bullion Van with registration number GN 424-14 owned by Mon-Tran Ghana in February 2022.

According to the prosecution, the accused utilized AK-47 rifles to shoot the bulletproof vehicle and used Royal motorcycles that belonged to Tettey and were also used by the accused's at-large accomplices.

It stated that Boadu's responsibility was to keep an eye on the vehicle and provide the gang with information.