Caprice Robbery Case: Accused persons plead not guilty to charges

Four out of the five accused persons arrested in connection with the Caprice robbery incident have pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against them.

The four suspects are Prince Anthony Chiobi, Izichuku Igwenagu, Martin Ahamafula and Emmanuella Chinwetalu.

All five have been charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and robbery.

Godfred Chukubuka, aka Caleb, who is now a serving convict, was not brought to court hence his plea was not taken.

Apart from Emmanuella who has been granted GHC100,000 bail by an Accra Circuit Court, the rest have been remanded till the final determination of the case.

The prosecution, led by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Emmanuel Haligah, said the police were still on the heels of the sixth accused person, Yaw John Darko Ikenna, who is said to be at large.

“We need more time to get to the sixth accused person and some others we believe were part of the accused persons who perpetrated the crime. The prosecution is liaising with International Police (INTERPOL), Nigeria, to get the sixth accused person arrested and brought to Ghana to face justice,” the prosecution said.

It, therefore, prayed the court to take the pleas of the accused persons.

The defence counsels pushed for bail again but it was not granted.

The matter has been adjourned to January 24, 2023.

The case of the prosecution is that on December 9, 2022, the Accra Regional Police Command had information that some armed men on motorbikes had attacked, shot and robbed a Chinese woman at Caprice, a suburb of Accra.

The regional police, on receipt of the information, dispatched police personnel to the scene to ascertain the act and investigate.

On reaching the scene, the victim informed the police that the robbers took her GHC370,000, which she had earlier cashed from the Standard Chartered Bank West Hills Mall branch on the day of the incident.

The victim further stated that she also had cash in the sum of GHC40,000 and $8,000 as well as two iPhones (iPhone 11 and 8+), which were all stolen.

After days of investigations, police intelligence revealed that the suspects and others were involved in the crime, and it emerged that they were at a hideout at Buduburam.

But when the police got to the hideout, the robbers engaged in a shootout resulting in the deaths of Nneji Harrison Ogbonna and another suspect.

The accused persons were later apprehended, while others escaped.

During investigations, it emerged that the suspects met at Igwenagu’s drinking spot at Buduburam and planned the crime.

According to the prosecution, investigations revealed that Ikenna, now at large, had agreed with Godfred Chukubuka, who had been convicted for 10 years by another Circuit Court for a similar offence, to commit the crime.

The investigation also indicated that the accused persons entered Ghana through unapproved routes to commit a crime and go back.

The prosecution said the police had received information that Ikenna was hiding in Nigeria and that he had sent money – GH¢1,300 – as transportation for his wife (Emmanuella, the third accused person) to join him in Nigeria.