Eight people have been arrested and put before an Accra Circuit Court over an alleged robbery of US$114, 500.00; £800.00; GH¢50,000.00 and €3,000.00 from a lawyer’s trunk inside a closet at her Premier Place home, inside the Airport Residential area in Accra.
Lawyer Hamida Nuhu was allegedly robbed at gun point of another GH¢2,000.00; US$800.00 and unspecified jewelries.
One of the accused persons, Richmond Tetteh, alias Metiti (A4), was arrested while displaying his booty at a spot.
The other accused persons are Mawuli Heletsi, aka Mosquito (A1); David Kokvina (A2); Joseph Nii Amu Offei, alias Gaza, aka Hero (A3); Malik Alhassan, alias Goliath @ Ababe (A5); Dennis Adu Ninson, alias NAM1 (A6); Mustapha Mumuni, alias Starboy (A7) and Zuberu Mustapha, alias One Corner (A8).
Mawuli is 24 years old and unemployed, David is 27 years and a Tiller, Joseph is 23 years and an Okada rider, Richmond is 20 years and unemployed, Malik is 27 years and also unemployed, and 26 years old Dennis, are standing trial for conspiracy to commit crime and robbery.
Mustapha, 42 years old and an ex-footballer and Zuberu, 25 years old and a scrap dealer are charged with dishonestly receiving.
Before the alleged robbery, A7 and A8 gave Malik a substance, suspected to be cocaine, to boost his energy level to engage in the robbery.
Mawuli and David, after the robbery operation, also ran to their spiritual father at Dambai, in the Oti region, for protection to escape arrest and death.
Chronology of plea, bail and remand
They have all pleaded not guilty to the charges on July 12, 2022.
Three of the accused persons, Malik, Mustapha and Zuberu were first to be put before the court, presided over by His Honour Samuel Bright Acquah on April 1, 2023.
Only Malik and Mustapha’s pleas of not guilty were taken, as the court did not readily have a Dagbani language interpreter to explain the charges to Zuberu, who has indicated that he would speak the Northern dialect.
The case was recalled on April 20 and further adjourned to May 11, 2023. However, the court did not sit on the last adjourned date, so the trial was rescheduled to May 17, 2023.
On May 17, the number of the accused persons presented before the court increased to five. Mustapha and Zuberu became the fourth and fifth accused persons in the amended charged sheet and brief facts.
After taking their pleas, Mustapha and Zuberu were granted bail in the sum of GH¢100,000 each with two sureties, one of whom should be an income earner and the other ordinary citizens, and the accused persons on bail were to report once every week to the police, whilst the three others were on remand.
The case was adjourned to May 24 and subsequently to June 7, 2023 which the charge sheet was once again amended with an addition of three more accused persons.
Mustapha and Zuberu’s position on the charge sheet shifted once again to the seventh and eighth place, and after taking their pleas, they were ordered to attended court on their previous bail conditions, while the rest remained in police custody.
On the returned date of June 6, 2023 the court had to adjourn the trial to July 4, 2023 because David Kokvina could not attend, despite being in police custody.
Mawuli, Joseph, Richard and Malik were later admitted to bail in the sum of GH¢1 million each, with three sureties to be justified and one should be an ordinary citizen.
Dennis, on the other hand, was admitted to bail in the sum of GH¢800,000.00 with three sureties, one to be justified while the other should be ordinary citizens.
Mawuli, Joseph, Richard, Malik and Dennis were to report twice a week to the police, as ordered by the court and to deposit their Ghana cards with the Court Registry.
David also reversed the decision to speak in Dagbani to English and by which he pleaded not guilty to the charges of robbery.
On July 12, counsel for Mawuli, Kofi Bonnie made application for variation of the bail bond and it was reduced to GH¢500,000.00.
The next hearing date is July 31, 2023.
Brief facts
The case, which was presented by Superintendent Augustine Yirenkyi, was that all of the accused persons mentioned are residents of Maamobi, Shukura, Santa Maria, Kokomba Market and Adabraka-Sahara respectively.
Mawuli, David, Joseph and Richmond allegedly attacked and robbed the complainant, Lawyer Hamida, on March 26, 2023 at about 2:04 am with the other accomplices surrounding the house.
Mawuli, who was dressed in all black and in a mask, armed with pistol, entered the room of the complainant, attacked and robbed her off USS$114, 500.00; GH¢50,000.00; £800 and €3,000 which were in a trunk in her closet.
The prosecutor said Mawuli also took away another GH¢2,000.00 and US$800.00 with unspecified amounts of other foreign currencies, including jewelleries.
He said after A1 finished robbing the complainant, he instructed her to remain in the room, else she will be killed.
After the incident, Lawyer Hamida lodged a complaint with the Police and intelligence led to the arrest of Joseph, who was captured by a CCTV camera arriving at the scene on a motorbike. The CCTV camera also captured entry and exit of Mawuli from the complainant’s residence.
Richard on the other hand was arrested after displaying his share of the booty at Gaza Spot. He disclosed to the police investigation team that David was the one who gave him one of the rings they took from the complainant, as his share, but Mawuli collected it from him with force.
Malik was also arrested and pointed out that he gave his share of the spoil to Mustapha and Zuberu.
Malik and Dennis, after their arrest, admitted giving Mustapha GH¢2,000.00 from Malik’s share of the March 27, 2023 robbery.
Although Zuberu admitted having received a laptop from Malik, the latter, however, insisted that he gave him US$500.00 and added that before they went for the robbery, Mustapha and Zuberu gave him cocaine to boost him for the operation.
Dennis has denied the offence and sated that it was Mawuli and David who committed the act.
Supt Yirinkyi added that further investigation revealed that Mawuli and David after the robbery ran to Dambai in the Oti Region to consult their spiritual father, who is now a witness in the case, to protect them spiritually from arrest and unnatural death.
The prosecutor said efforts are being made to apprehend the other accomplices, as the case is still under investigation.
