Armed robbery, organized crime in Ghana originated from Nigeria - Adu Asare

Former Member of Parliament for Adentan Constituency on the ticket of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Hon. Adu Asare has emphatically stated that Nigerians introduced armed robbery and other hardened criminal activities in Ghana.

According to him, armed robbery and highway robbery which have become predominant in the country is an adopted behaviour from Nigeria which was first heard of in 1987, following the operations of one notorious criminal called Anini.

Born Lawrence Nomanyagbon Anini in 1960, he was a Nigerian bandit who terrorised Benin City in the 1980s along with his sidekick Monday Osunbor. Anini was captured and executed for his crimes in 1987.

Commenting on the Nigerian Professor, Austin Nwagbara, who was captured in a recent video recording, scheming to denigrate Ghana as a bad country, the former Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports said on Radio Gold’s "Alhaji and Alhaji" that the University Lecturer's comment was simply a desperate attempt to savage the bad image of Ghana's West-African neighbours.

“...that was the first time I heard about armed robbery in Ghana. Those in Ghana, it was petty thievery; that is what we used to have here. We have burglars who will come to your home to steal TV, radio set, fridge and other valuable items but armed robbery and highway robbery and all those hardened criminal activities came from Nigeria; there is no doubt about that and over the years, Ghanaians have learned these things”, he asserted.

He however indicated that Ghanaians have not only learned bad things from Nigeria as some of Ghanaian lecturers are also in Nigeria teaching in their Universities; thus the Nigerians also come to Ghana for trading.

Discussing the cause of increase in criminal activities in the country, Hon. Adu Asare outlined that the porous immigration system, Ghanaian security at the borders and hospitality in general have contributed to the influx of crimes and Nigerians into the country.

“When Nigerians come into the country, we don’t have any system to check what they are coming to do here; whether to visit or school, we don’t have such system running in the country...and so certainly, if you have such porous borders as we have them today, you cannot be exempted from these crimes”, he bemoaned.