Police Angry With Courts

Although there is nothing to suggest that the Police and members of the bench are not good bedfellows, there is indication however that the former do not trust the latter when it comes to the issuance of bails to suspected criminals.

The body language of the Police who are at the forefront of the fight against armed robberies is indicative of the fact that they doubt very much the sincerity of the their friends in the handling of suspects they toil day and night and often at the peril of their lives, to haul in.

This is a factor which encourages some cops not to want to prosecute certain cases for the fear that after all the bench would embarrass them with unnecessary questions in court.

The police are just at the doorstep of saying that the armed robbers offer money to some judges to grant them bails. Since it is generally regarded that while on bail a criminal is on the verge of having his case quashed, it is very much sought after.

The ADM has also discovered that should this trend continue we are heading for a situation where the cops would develop a cold feet in their mission.

So far however the morale among them is high and this can be attributed to the government's action in making available to them basic resources and logistics in the performance of their statutory functions.

Against the backdrop of the recent daring daylight robberies which have rocked the city of Accra the Police are requesting that something be done about this situation if residents are to enjoy their lives.

One top Police officer quipped thus: " if these boys had not been arrested we would have had a rough Xmas." The question being asked now is : For how long will these criminals remain behind bars and would they not be granted mysterious bails?"

The ADM has regrettably learnt about how current measures in place are not deterrent enough to keep armed robbers away from their trade.

The following profiles speak volumes about the sort of persons being dealt with by the Ghana Police Service whose cry about the discouraging attitude of their friends on the bench must be looked into.

AMUZU OKAI

He is 29 years, married with one boy of 7. He lives in Abeka and is the landlord of a house his late father bequeathed to him. On 25th February 2002 he and one Malam Abu, a remand prisoner at Nsawam, Odartey Lamptey also on remand, robbed a Coca Cola Company at Osu and took away a safe containing eight million cedis.

Amuzu Okai was arrested by a Police Patrol team and was later remanded into prison custody on 25th March 2002. He was also granted bail in some mysterious circumstances in March this year but came out in May and again re-entered the robbery trade.

He has partnered Amuzu Kilo, Atta Aryee, Raymond Ameh, Sammy Tugah in other robberies. He was arrested on Tuesday 11/11/03 in a police operation. Amuzu Okai was part of the team which robbed and killed in Adabraka in August.

Awudu Mahama is 26, a driver by profession. He is half Nigerian and half Ghanaian. One Stephen introduced him to Atta Aryee and his group and since then he has joined the group in robbery operations in places like Adzriganor and Kanda.

Richard Kwofi is 36 and was convicted around 1993 for armed robbery together with Amuzu Kilo but both came out after serving their jail terms of 9 years each.

Richard has partnered one Alex Nkansah, Yusif Hassan, alias Rabiu both of whom were arrested for robberies in April this year. In that arrest Richard Kwofie narrowly escaped and has since joined Amuzu Kilo, Amuzu Okai, Attah Aryee, Amewugah, Raymond Ameh in committing robberies.
He is now a priority on the list of wanted criminals and an reward of five million cedis anybody with information that would lead to his arrest.
Mpata is an ex-convict having recently been released from prison after serving a ten year jail term for armed robbery. He is over thirty years old and re-entered the robbery trade on his release from prison.
His new method of operation is organizing colleague armed robbers to snatch vehicles for him to buy them at take-away prices which he either sells or uses for armed robbery missions.
He lives in Nungua and the Police are on his trail.
Meanwhile the police have announced that they are still searching for the following persons: Amuzu Kilo, Atta Aryee, Sammy Tuga, Raymond Ameh, Mpata, Richard Kwofie, Sarfo, Frank Agoro, Malam Abu and Boadi.
Corruption has been cited as the main factor enabling armed robbers to seek and obtain bail and return to rob and kill.
The cry of the Police that bails be made difficult to acquire or denied outright, if heeded, would go a long way in facilitating their chores.