Attempted murder: A masked man tied me down at gun point with rope – Witness to Court

A former Guard at Spintex has told the High Court in Accra how he was tied down at gun point by a “masked man” said to be a 22-year-old private security guard.

Ernest Akampisi Jacob, currently a mason said in 2020 he was working as a security guard for a security company in Accra, where the home he was guarding was attacked and robbed.

Jacob, while testifying as the 2nd Prosecution Witness in a case in which Pius Ayoma, a private security man has been charged for offenses including attempted murder and robbery said, the accused arrived in their house in a “mask.”

While being led by the Prosecution led by Principal State Attorney(PSA), Sefakor Batse to give his Evidence-in-Chief to the Court and the jury said, the accused tied him down at gun point with a rope.

The accused who is said to have escaped lawful custody in March last year, has pleaded not guilty to three charges before the High Court presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo.

“While on duty, I was on my phone standing outside the gate and I entered into the compound while still on my phone and because of the call, I did not immediately shut the main gate,” he stated

“I was there and I realized someone was opening the main gate and I turned to find out who it was, it was a masked man with a back pack and a gun pointed at me and asked me to remain silent or otherwise he will kill me,” the Witness told the Court.

Asked by the PSA to describe the mask and the gun to the court, the Witness said, “the mask was green and black in colour and looked like a toy” while “the gun was a long gun with two pipes.”

While identifying the mask in open Court, the Witness said, “after that he (accused) ordered me at a gun point to the main door of the house.”

According to him, “the masked man (Accused) removed a key from his pocket and opened the door and ordered me to go inside.”

“He again ordered me at gun point to one of the bedrooms and he asked me to lie down and I complied.


“And he tied me up with rope and a neck tie, both hands and legs. After that he was hitting me with the gun that he was holding,” he narrated to the Court.

The Witness also told the Court that, “he (masked man) was hurting me to the extent that I could not contain the pain again.”

Plea for mercy

The 2nd Witness told the Court that, “I pleaded with him and asked why he was still beating me when I had complied.”

“And the masked man told me that he planned to kill the security guard on duty, but he is going to spare my life because he heard me speaking on phone in his local language which is Buli,” he told the Court.

“Then after that he gave me my phone to call a certain number for him because my phone was locked with pattern.

“So when he was mentioning the numbers, I decided to call my brother’s number Joshua while crying in the pain that he hit me earlier.

“After I dialed the number the masked man quickly took the phone from me,” he narrated to the Court.

He told the court that, he decided to call his brother “because I just wanted someone who is closer to know what was happening to me while I was on duty.”

Crying madam

The Witness told the Court that, “for some time, it was a sound of footsteps which made the masked man to remain silent for a while then he quietly went outside.”

“…I heard my madam crying outside but I did not know what was going on there. Then, the masked man came with my madam to the room that I was tied up in.”

He said, “the masked man was hitting me with the gun again in front of my madam.”

“And after that, the masked man left with my madam and that was the last time I set my eyes on the masked man and my madam,” he explained to the Court.

“After they left, my boss (the 1st Complainant) and some people came to untie me. After they untied me, I was sent to the hospital because I was still in pains,” he stated.

Asked how long it was after the masked man left with his madam before he was untied, the Witness said, It was about an hour and some minutes.”

He told the Court that, he was admitted at the hospital and was discharged the following day.