Ataa Ayi, others resurface in court

Accra, Aug. 27, GNA - Nii Aryee Aryeetey, aka Ataa Ayi, who is serving a 70-year jail term for robbery was on Wednesday put before an Accra Circuit Court on another charge of robbery.

The sombre looking Ataa Ayi who was in a blue and red stripped T-shirt entered the dock with three others who have been charged for conspiracy and robbing a Forex Bureau operator of 144 million old Ghana cedis (GHC 14,400) at gun point.

Ataa Ayi's accomplices, Raymond Ameh, Sarfo Sarpong and Michael Nii Tagoe, pleaded not guilty and the court, presided over Mr Justice Nicolas M. Abodakpi, a High Court, remanded them into prison custody. Their accomplice, Nana Osei Razak, who is said to have offered his white Opel Astra to facilitate the robbery, pleaded guilty before the same court last week and was sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment in hard labour.

Mr David Annan, who represented Ataa Ayi, informed the court that the Judicial Service had nominated him and Mr Joseph Acheampong to represent Ataa Ayi in all his cases. Currently, Ataa Ayi has three cases before different courts.

Mr Annan said the cases of his client before Mr Justice Paul Baffoe Bonney and Mr Justice E. K. Ayebi had been stood down. According to him, all the cases arose out of one transaction on particular days. He said the rest of the accused persons were not represented because their counsel were not aware that they had been put before the court and that he (Mr Annan) was informed by a prison officer that his client had been brought to court. Mr Annan told the court that they were convinced that the evidence they had would help prove his client's innocence. The court, however, said it was not aware that Ataa Ayi was facing other charges and requested the Registrar of the court to fix a date for hearing.

The case presented by the prosecution is that on May 17, 2004, a customer of a forex bureau in Accra Central owned by Mr Musah Hamza called him on phone and requested for 860,000 CFA. The prosecution said the customer asked Mr Hamza to meet him at Osu Standard Chartered Bank. Mr Hamza and one Fatal then proceeded to Osu to give the money to the customer who in turn gave him 144 million old Ghana cedis. According to the prosecution, Mr Hamza took 50,000 old Ghana cedis out of the amount and put the rest in a carton and placed it in the boot of his car.

Unknowing to him, four of the accused who were hovering around saw the complainant put the money in the car and therefore trailed him as he drove to his office.

At the Osu Cemetery, the traffic light turned red so the complainant stopped. Three of the accused persons got out of their car, pointed a gun at him, removed his car keys, opened the car boot, removed the money and drove away. A report was made to the Police at Osu. The prosecution said the accused persons went to Coco Beach where they shared the booty.

The prosecutor said Razak did not take part in the offence but gave his vehicle to Ataa Ayi as soon as he requested for it to facilitate the robbery.