Members of a gang who engaged police officers in a shootout during an attempted robbery have been jailed for a total of 60 years by a circuit court in Bekwai in the Ashanti Region.
Umar Sandah alias Boobey, 59, Saadoh Ali, 23, and Jibor Ali, 28 were said to have confronted the police officers from the Jacobu District Police Command who were on patrol duties on the Kumasi-Obuasi highway on May 10, 2021.
They were found guilty on two counts of conspiracy to commit robbery and attempted robbery and each sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in hard labour by the court presided over by Mark Doboro.
Prosecutor, Detective Chief Inspector Stephen Ofori said the incident occurred between Hemang and Akokoaso section of the highway around 10.30 pm.
According to him, the gang, numbering four and wearing masks, emerged from a nearby bush on the said date to prey on the police officers after mistaking their vehicle for a commercial bus.
Chief Inspector Ofori narrated that the robbers, upon realizing that the occupants were police officers, opened fire on them and they also returned fire, killing one of the robbers in the process.
The three others, who are Fulanis and native of Fadankruma in Burkina Faso and Sokoto in Nigeria, attempted to escape from the scene, but they were arrested.
A short single barrier gun, a machete, two torchlights, two live AAA and two spent AAA cartridges were retrieved from the scene.
The three were taken to the Jacobu police station, while the body of the fourth person was deposited at the St. Peter’s Hospital morgue for identification and autopsy.
By Ernest Kofi Adu