Alleged armed robbers battle court officials

Sunyani, Mar. 3, GNA- Drama unfolded at a circuit court at Fiapre near Sunyani on Thursday, when three alleged armed robbers arraigned before it jumped over the dock and attempted to escape from the court room.

The commotion that followed the daring move by the robbers brought proceedings for the day to an abrupt end.

A court official told the GNA that the handcuffs on the robbers were removed as the court interpreter summoned them to the dock and just as the prosecutor, Chief Inspector Emmanuel Boison, began to address the court they suddenly jumped from the dock and sprinted for the main entrance.

Issah Mensah, a sawmill operator, Kwaku Busanga, fitter apprentice and Abass Musah, an electrician, were arrested by a police team in Sunyani on Christmas Day last year after they had robbed a cigarette seller and a fuel station on the Sunyani-Kenyasi road of huge sums of money with offensive weapons.

In the ensuing melee two investigators, two prosecutors and a court warrant officer found it difficult to contain the robbers as they were without weapons.

One of the prosecutors, however, blocked the main entrance of the court, which made it impossible for the robbers to move out whilst the others struggled to handcuff them again.

All the tables and benches in the court room were tumbled in the struggle as the robbers resisted being handcuffed again. The presiding judge Mr John Owusu quietly sneaked into his chambers whilst the complainants, witnesses and the court clerks also dashed to safety in the offices.

General Constable Noble Seanefu, court warrant officer, proved his mettle as he exchanged blows with the robbers and in the process had his right hand seriously bitten by one of the robbers, whilst another gripped his male organ, ostensibly to weaken him. He, however, overpowered them and with the assistance of the other security officials succeeded in handcuffing the robbers. The police, who could not wait to hear the next adjourned date for the hearing of the case, whisked the 'wild' robbers back to the prison yard.