Eight individuals have been arrested and brought before an Accra Circuit Court in connection with the alleged theft of US$114,500, £800, GH50,000, and €3,000 from a lawyer’s trunk inside a closet at her Premier Place residence in Accra’s Airport Residential area.
Attorney Hamida Nuhu was allegedly robbed at gunpoint of an additional GH2,000, $800, and unidentified jewelry.
Richmond Tetteh, alias Metiti (A4), was apprehended while displaying his loot at a particular location.
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Mawuli, age 24 and unemployed; David, age 27 and a Tiller; Joseph, age 23 and an Okada rider; Richmond, age 20 and unemployed; Malik, age 27 and also unemployed; and Dennis, age 26, are on trial for conspiracy to commit crime and larceny.
Mustapha, a 42-year-old ex-footballer, and Zuberu, a 25-year-old waste dealer, are charged with receiving fraudulently.
Before the alleged robbery, A7 and A8 allegedly gave Malik a substance, believed to be cocaine, to increase his vitality so he could commit the robbery.
In order to avoid arrest and murder, Mawuli and David fled to their spiritual father at Dambai in the Oti region following the robbery.
Chronology of confession, bond, and detention
On July 12, 2022, they all pleaded not guilty to the allegations.
On April 1, 2023, three of the accused, Malik, Mustapha, and Zuberu, were to be brought before the court presided over by His Honor Samuel Bright Acquah.
As the court lacked a Dagbani interpreter to convey the charges to Zuberu, who indicated he would speak the Northern dialect, only the not-guilty pleas of Malik and Mustapha were accepted.
The case was rescheduled for May 11, 2023, after being recalled on April 20. The trial has been rescheduled for May 17, 2023, because the court did not convene on the last adjourned date.
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On May 17, a total of five defendants were brought before the court. Mustapha and Zuberu were added as the fourth and fifth defendants in the amended indictment and summary of facts.
Mustapha and Zuberu were granted bail in the amount of GH100,000 each with two sureties, one of whom was to be a wage earner and the other two were to be ordinary citizens, and they were required to report to the police once per week, whereas the other three defendants were held in remand.
The case was postponed to May 24 and then to June 7, 2023, when the indictment was once again amended with the addition of three more defendants.
After taking their pleas, Mustapha and Zuberu were ordered to appear in court under the same bail conditions as before, while the remaining defendants remained in police detention.
On the rescheduled date of June 6, 2023, the court adjourned the trial to July 4, 2023, because David Kokvina, despite being in police detention, was unable to appear.
Mawuli, Joseph, Richard, and Malik were subsequently granted a bond in the amount of GH1 million with three sureties, one of whom must be an ordinary citizen.
Dennis, on the other hand, was granted a bond in the amount of GH800,000.00 with three sureties, one of whom must be a law enforcement officer and the other two must be average citizens.
The court ordered Mawuli, Joseph, Richard, Malik, and Dennis to report to the police twice per week and to deposit their Ghana identification cards with the Court Registry.
In addition to reversing his decision to switch from Dagbani to English, David pleaded not guilty to the robbery charges.
On July 12, Mawuli’s attorney, Kofi Bonnie, submitted a request for modification of the bail surety, which was reduced to GH500,000.00.
The next scheduled hearing date is July 31, 2023.
Brief details
Superintendent Augustine Yirenkyi presented evidence that all of the accused individuals are residents of Maamobi, Shukura, Santa Maria, Kokomba Market, and Adabraka-Sahara, respectively.
Mawuli, David, Joseph, and Richmond are accused of assaulting and robbing the complainant, Lawyer Hamida, at 2:04 a.m. on March 26, 2023, while other accomplices surrounded the house.
Mawuli, clad in all black, wearing a mask, and armed with a pistol, entered the complainant’s room, attacked her, and stole US$114,500, GH50,000, £800, and €3,000 from her closet trunk.
The prosecutor stated that Mawuli stole an additional GH2,000 and US$800 in addition to unspecified quantities of other foreign currencies and jewelry.
He stated that after A1 had completed robbing the complainant, he ordered her to remain in the room or she would be murdered.
After the incident, Attorney Hamida filed a police report, and information led to the arrest of Joseph, who was captured by a CCTV camera approaching on a motorcycle. The CCTV camera also documented Mawuli’s entry and exit from the residence of the complainant.
On the other hand, Richard was apprehended after displaying his portion of the loot at Gaza Spot. He revealed to the police investigation team that David was the one who gave him one of the jewels taken from the complainant as his share, but Mawuli forcibly took it away from him.
Malik was also apprehended, and it was revealed that he had given Mustapha and Zuberu his share of the booty.
After their arrest, Malik and Dennis acknowledged giving Mustapha GH2,000.00 from Malik’s share of the robbery on March 27, 2023.
Although Zuberu acknowledged receiving a laptop from Malik, the latter insisted that he gave him $500 and added that Mustapha and Zuberu gave him cocaine prior to the robbery to give him the necessary boost.
Dennis has denied the offense and stated that Mawuli and David were responsible.
Supt. Yirinkyi added that further investigation revealed that after the robbery, Mawuli and David fled to Dambai in the Oti Region to consult their spiritual father, who is now a witness in the case, in order to be spiritually protected from arrest and unnatural death.
As the case is still under investigation, the prosecutor stated that efforts are being made to apprehend the remaining accomplices.
