Trader gets 90 years for robbery

An Accra Circuit Court on Monday sentenced Eric Opoku, aka Nana a trader to a total jail term of 90 years imprisonment for snatching two vehicles at gun point in two separate incidents in Accra.

In the first incident, Opoku robbed a taxi driver of his Kia Pride cab at gun point in West Land, Legon in Accra.

This was after Opoku had pleaded guilty to conspiracy and robbery.

The court presided over by Mr Francis Obiri sentenced Opoku to 10 years on the charge of conspiracy and on the charge of robbery he was asked to serve 40 years imprisonment. Sentences were however to run concurrently.

His alleged accomplice Kwasi Moses is on GH¢10,000 bail with two sureties.

Opoku told the court that because he could not withstand the beatings meted out to him by the Police he decided to mention Moses’s name as his accomplice.

According to Opoku, Moses did not take part in the robbery.

Prosecuting Police Chief Inspector John K. Anim told the court that the complainant, Mr Samuel Darkwa, resides at Awoshie in Accra while Opoku resides at Elubo in the Western Region.

Chief Inspector Anim said on June 12, 2011, the complainant was driving a Kia Pride and about 1730 hours a young man hired the complainant from Dome Railway Crossing to Haatso West Land, Legon in Accra.

On reaching a section of the road at West Land the youngman told the complainant that he would alight so the complainant should stop and he obliged. As soon as the complainant stopped Opoku emerged from the bush and pulled a locally manufactured pistol and ordered him to alight from the car.

Chief Inspector Anim said Opoku and the said youngman bolted with the taxi to Kumasi where they changed its original colour of Green and Yellow to dark green and the registration number.

Prosecution said sold the vehicle to one Bismark Owusu for GH¢6,000 leaving a balance of GH¢1,000.

A few weeks after the incident, Opoku was arrested by the Police at Aburi for snatching at gun Toyota Corolla.

Prosecution said following Police interrogation, Opoku led the Police to retrieve the Kia taxi and the complainant identified him as the one who snatched his car.

In another development, the same court has sentenced Opoku to 50 years imprisonment on the charges of conspiracy and robbery.

Opoku was sentenced by the same court after he had pleaded guilty to the charges.

The case of the prosecution was that he had robbed one Joseph Banson of his Kia Sephia taxi with registration valued at GH¢ 8,000 at gun point at Oyarifa.

Prosecution said Opoku however changed chassis number and sold the vehicle to a Police officer at Nsawam.

His accomplices Samuel Kingsley Yeboah aka Moses, Bismark Bonney, Kofi Badu aka Kofi Nsawam and Osei Agyemang Prempeh have been admitted to bail in the sum of GH¢ 10,000 with two sureties each.