One of the two persons standing trial for attacking and robbing Bext Nascent Forex Bureau at Mpamprom in Accra, was yesterday handed a 21-year jail term with hard labour by an Accra circuit court.
The conviction of the accused, Haruna Abdulai aka Borbor, unemployed, by the court, presided over by Aboagye Tandoh, followed a decision by the accused to change his plea.
Borbor, who had initially said he was not liable for the offence of conspiracy to rob and robbery, changed his plea to guilty with explanation when his lawyer, Joseph Kaponde, was billed to cross-examine Benjamin Bortey, a witness and staff of the Forex Bureau – currently in the dock.
The duo, including two others currently on the run, are said to have at about 2:30 pm on March 23, this year, robbed one Bismark Boateng of GH¢150,000 belonging to the Forex Bureau.
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Explanation
Explaining the rationale behind the robbery, Borbor was emphatic that he embarked on the act because he is a mechanic and needed money to buy spare parts for the business.
He stated that he did not know his other accomplice – Yakubu Alhassan, a welder – to warrant the pairing of the two of them for the trial.
The trial judge in a ruling, said the explanation of Borbor did not raise any defence in respect of the charges preferred against him.
He said that the court would enter a guilty plea for the accused and proceeded to convict him.
Mr Joseph Kaponde urged the court to deal most leniently with the convict, insisting that his client was a first offender who had not had any brush with the law before.
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Mitigation
Mr. Kaponde pleaded that Borbor ought to be given a minimal sentence because he is only 22 years old, adding that the sentence should be reasonable to enable his client to reform.
Mr. Kaponde stated that Borbor had also not wasted the time of the court and had shown remorse.
He asserted that the money his client was said to have stolen had also been retrieved.
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Judgement Â
Sentencing Borbor, the court said that it had taken the five months the accused had been in custody into cosideration.
The judge stated that the convict had rather used wrong modus operandi and accordingly slapped him with the jail term to serve as a deterrent to others.
The court held that the trial of Yakubu would continue, despite the denial by Borbor that he (Borbor) does not know him.
In the view of the court, Borbor’s sentence on the charge of conspiracy would be determined by the end of the trial.
Sitting continues today.
Witnesses
Meanwhile, the prosecution, led by Chief Superintendent Duuti Tuaruka, has said that there are two more witnesses yet to testify in the trial.
C/Supt. Tuaruka said Boateng is the manager of the Forex Bureau and that on the said date the accused persons and the others on the run went to the Bureau under the pretext of doing business.
According to him, in the process, the accused persons pulled a locally made pistol on Boateng and two other workers at the Bureau, took them hostage and made away with monies in the safe and drawer in both local and foreign currencies totaling GH¢150,000.
C/Supt. Tuaruka maintained that after the robbery, a staff at the Bureau raised an alarm and with the assistance of a police patrol team from Kaneshie and the people in the vicinity, the accused persons were arrested while the two others escaped.
He said when Yakubu and Haruna were being chased by the mob, they fired indiscriminately and in the process, 14 persons sustained gunshot injuries and were rushed to the Police Hospital for treatment.
The senior police officer said due to the severe injury sustained by Haruna, he had not been able to give his statement to the police but Yakubu admitted the offence in his caution statement and mentioned Haruna as his accomplice, as well as the others at large.
He stated that GH¢58,000 and the locally manufactured pistol were retrieved from Haruna and Yakubu.
By Jeffrey De-Graft JohnsonÂ
jeffdegraft44@yahoo.com