Canadians' kidnappers contacted families for ransom - Prosecutor reveals

It has been revealed that the men who kidnapped two Canadian women in Kumasi on 4th June contacted the families of their victims to ask for ransom.

This revelation was made when the suspects made their first appearance in court on Friday 14th June 2019.

A Senior State Attorney, Hilda Craig presenting the facts of the case noted that Sampson Aghalor who is the leader of the gang called the families of the two ladies to demand an amount of $800,000 as ransom for their release.

The kidnappers smeared blood on their victims and on the floor to prove to their families that they were serious.

The accused persons are Sampson Aghalor aka Romeo, Elvis Ojiyorwe, Jeff Omarsar, all Nigerians. The others are Yusif Yakubu, Abdul Nasir and Seidu Abubakari aka Nba - Ghanaians.

Hilda Craig revealed that Aghalor struck up an acquaintance with Yakubu in March 2019 and discussed kidnapping as a trade with him.

Aghalor then went to Nigeria and recruited Ojiyorwe and Omarsar to be part of the group.

On June 4, 2019, the gang went on a kidnapping operation in Kumasi and managed to kidnap the two Canadians after accosting them at their hostel at Nhyiaeso, a suburb of Kumasi and sent them to an uncompleted building at Kenyasi Krobo.

But luck eluded the group when a National Security team, led by Colonel Micheal Opoku, arrested Yusif on June 11.

Yussif later led them to the rest of the gang, leading to rescue the two Canadians.

Upon their arrest, the accused persons mentioned Nasir and Abubakari as part of the gang and they were also arrested.

All the accused persons were charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, while Aghalor, Ojiyorwe, Omarsar and Yakubu, were separately charged with kidnapping.

The hearing continues on July 1, 2019.