Court sentences Nigerian for snatching money bags

A 25-year-old Nigerian Chijioke Amadi was on Wednesday sentenced to a fine of GH¢2,400.00 by an Accra Circuit Court for snatching the bags of money changers containing different currencies to the tune of GH¢53,610.00.

Amadi, unemployed, will in default, serve two years imprisonment in hard labour. He denied the offence but was found culpable.

His accomplice, one Ndubueze Odoemenam, also unemployed, together with Amadi jumped bail when they were granted bail of GH¢55,000.00 with three sureties each but Amadi was re-arrested whilst Odoemenam, is still on the run.

They were charged with conspiracy to commit crime and stealing.

Police Chief Inspector Rosina Tetteh told the Court presided over by Madam Marian Affoh that the prosecuting witnesses are Abdul Rahman and Abubakari Nuhu trades in Foreign Exchange at Tudu in Accra.

On May 17, 2017, at about 20:00 hours Amadi and Odoemenam, who lived at the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange went to Tudu on a motorbike with the intension to steal.

He said Amadi approached Rahman and pretended to be changing his Naira for Cedis as Odoemenam waited on the motorbike.

Amadi then picked a small bag on Rahman’s laps containing GH¢35,000.00, joined onto the waiting bike and they sped-off.

The Prosecution said 12 days later, the accused persons with the same modus operandi stole GH¢9,500.00, 160,000 CFA and 42,500 Naira from Nuhu.

Chief Inspector Tettteh said on June 20, same year, the two were published in the media upon their arrest in a similar offence by the Cantonments Police.

The Prosecution witnesses then saw them and proceeded to the police, where they identified the accused persons in an identification parade as the thieves.

After further probing, the two were processed for court.