Ataa Ayi now church elder at Nsawam Prisons

Information reaching The Independent says jailed notorious armed robber, Aryee Ayittey alias Ataa Ayi, is now a church leader in the Church of Pentecost at the Nsawam Prisons.

Reports say a local assembly of the church in Accra announced this during a church meeting.

The Ghana Prisons Service confirmed the reformed state of the convict to The Independent.

“Ataa Ayi is showing signs of reformation. He attends church regularly. At the moment, he has been elevated to a position of an inmate leader,” Courage Akyem, Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Prisons Service explained.

Touted as the “most wanted” armed robber the nation has ever had, Ataa Ayi was sentenced to 120 years imprisonment with hard labour on different charges of robbery and connivance to commit robbery.

He has served eight years at the Nsawam Medium Security Prison, but the new behavior exhibited by the incarcerated robber shows that he is a changed man.

“When he was sentenced, he was rowdy, but now he is a calm person,” the Prisons PRO noted.

According to Mr. Akyem, the transformed demeanor of Ataa Ayi is quite manifest as he now assists administration in curbing indiscipline among fellow inmates at the prison.

“For us, it hasn’t come as a surprise at all. In fact, that was our expectation,” he said.

Mr. Akyem continued several reformations and correctional measures may have contributed to Ataa Ayi’s change, but he admitted the fact that Ataa Ayi might have had a sober reflection on his life and faith.

When asked why Ataa Ayi was not part of the inmates released on presidential amnesty granted recently, the PRO said Ataa Ayi did not qualify to be set free.

“His offence makes him ineligible for amnesty,” he indicated.

Ataa Ayi’s status as an inmate leader means he has access to serving in the kitchen, access to serving in some designated offices and privilege to get excess food.

Flashback

Ataa Ayi who was described by the police as the nation's most notorious bandit had a high price tag placed on his head by the police.

His whereabouts before he was captured prompted the largest manhunt in the nation's crime history, with expensive billboards, bearing his portrait, mounted in five of the ten regions of the country.

Ataa Ayi was arrested in his hideout in the Teshie Tsui Bleo, a surburb of Accra. His girlfriend, suspected to be an accomplice, was also arrested in the raid.

Before his arrest, the police had been on his heels for months. His deputy, Emmanuel Tetteh, also known as Mpata was also arrested.

It was believed that information provided by Mpata might have helped to track down the elusive Ataa Ayi.

According to police reports, Ataa Ayi was the brain behind most of the brutal armed robberies in Accra.

He and members of his gang were alleged to have, at gun-point, stolen money, cars, jewelry and other valuables from various people in the national capital.

He was also alleged to have shot several people who resisted his attacks.