Five jailed 75 years for robbery

Five persons who attacked a student of Islamic University at his hostel and robbed him of his three mobile phones were on Thursday sentenced to a total jail term of 75 years by an Accra Circuit Court.

The sentence was handed after the Court found them guilty of the charges of conspiracy to rob and robbery.

The accused persons were sentenced to 15 years each on the charge of conspiracy to rob and 15 years on the charge of robbery.

The sentences are to run concurrently.

The convicts are Anthony Galley aka Rasta, a trader, Amewuga Kumafu aka Hugah, a labourer, Richard Tenyuie, a driver’s mate, Richard Korley aka Sapele, and Akwasi Aikins aka Macho, both auto electricians.

The Court presided over by Mr Justice Francis Obiri said it took into consideration the increase in robbery cases while the wife of one of the convicts, who has a two month old baby, wept uncontrollably after the judgement was delivered.

Prosecuting Chief Inspector Kofi Adu said Mr Alhassan Mufid; the complainant is a student of the Islamic University at Adjiringanor while the convicts reside at Brazil, a suburb of Agbogboloshie.

On April 16, at about 1230 hours, the complainant and his friends were in front of their student hostel at Adjiringanor snapping picture with their phones when the convicts suddenly attacked them with guns and cutlasses.

Chief Inspector Adu said the convicts threatened the complainant with a gun or cut his body with the cutlass if he failed to surrender his three mobile phones.

Prosecution said the complainant did hand them over and later informed his friends who started tracking the phones with a device but that did not yield any results.

When the matter was reported to the Police and Galley was brought to the Adjiringanor Police station the complainant identified him as one of the robbers who robbed him of his mobile phones.

According to prosecution, Galley led the police and Kumafu, Tenyuie, Korley and Aikins were arrested.

During interrogation, Chief Inspector Adu said, Kumafu told the police that on April 16, he received an Apple Iphone from Moses and Selorm who are at large.

He said Kumafu claimed he sent the iphone to his brother in law known as Hamza Aziz to keep it for him for a fee of GHc 200. When Aziz was arrested the Iphone was retrieved.