Businessman jailed 18 years over robbery

Abdulai Shaibu Gafaru, a businessman based at Nankpanduri, in the Northern Region, has been sentenced to 18 years imprisonment in hard labour by the Juaso Circuit Court for robbery.

He had pleaded not guilty to charges of unlawful entry, causing unlawful damage and robbery but the court pronounced him guilty after a trial that lasted for 11 months.

He was part of a robbery gang that had raided the Konongo Office of the Ghana Audit Service and made away with an official Toyota Hilux pick up, a Mercedes Benz saloon car belonging to the Municipal Director of the Service, and four office laptop computers.

Police Chief Inspector Thomas Obour told the court, presided over by Mr. Fredrick Tetteh, that the incident happened on January 3, 2016 at about 0100 hours.

The robbers armed with guns had earlier overpowered the night watchman, tied his hands and legs with a cello-tape.

They additionally, smashed doors and damaged an office steel cabinet.
Gafaru was arrested three months after, when he was involved in another robbery incident.
The police retrieved from him the stolen Mercedes Benz saloon car.

He had changed the registration number, to avoid detection but checks at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) exposed him.

The Municipal Director of the Audit Service, the prosecution said, was confirmed as the owner of the car.

The court freed three other persons, who stood trial with the convict – Mahama Aluwa, Antwi Duku and Yakubu Mahmud, for lack of evidence linking them to the robbery.

Source: GNA