Security Officer gets one year for extortion

An Accra Circuit Court on Tuesday sentenced a security Officer, Nii Amoo Sackey to one year imprisonment for extortion.

Nii Amoo, who was charged for conspiracy and stealing, pleaded not guilty to the charges but the Court found him guilty.

Police Chief Inspector E. Afful told the Court that the complainant, one Augustine Dodd and his wife live at Dansoman but they bought a plot of land at Gonse Gbawe, which they were developing.

He said the convict and three others now at large constituted themselves as land guards and terrorise the complainant and the workers at the site to stop work unless they settle them with huge sums of money.

The prosecution said on January 1, 2014, while the workers who are witnesses in the case were busily at work, the convict and his accomplices invaded the site and robbed them of some tools. They later called the complainant on phone and demanded from him GH? 150.00 before they would release the tools to them.

Police Chief Inspector Afful told the Court that the complainant made a report to the police who went undercover and invited the convicts and his accomplices to come for the money.

When the convict was receiving the money from the complainant, he was arrested and later led the police to an uncompleted building where the tools were hid.