The suspects
The Ghana Police Service has arrested seven suspects in connection with a highway robbery involving a member of Council of State.
The suspects are Rashida Yusif, Aaron Abana Baswiefanga, Wilson Avasong, Muntaru Iddrisu (Virgin), Aminu Zebrilla (Birdman), Inusah Sumaila (Agenda), and Haruna Safiano.
Addressing the press in Accra, Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), COP Lydia Yaako Donkor, said the Member of Council of State was traveling on July 21, 2025, along the Tamale-Buipe Highway when he was attacked by six armed men who robbed him of personal belongings, including mobile phones, some cash, wristwatches, reading glasses, a laptop, and other items.
Following intelligence gathered by the CID, on January 11, 2026, a team from the Anti-Armed Robbery Unit was dispatched to Salaga in the Savannah Region.
“This operation led to the arrest of Rashida Yusif, who was found in possession of an iPhone 7 Plus belonging to the victim. The phone was retrieved,” she said.
COP Donkor indicated that further investigations led officers to a mobile phone shop located at Dagomba Line in Salaga.
She said the shop attendant, Aaron Abana Baswiefanga, disclosed upon his arrest that the phone had been brought to the shop by his uncle, Wilson Avasong, an environmental officer and the shop’s owner, who resides in Tamale.
The said Wilson Avasong was subsequently arrested in Tamale.
“During interrogation, suspect Wilson Avasong stated that he purchased the phone from a phone repairer, Muntaru Iddrisu, also known as Virgin, for one thousand Ghana cedis (GH₵1,000)” she said.
COP Donkor also mentioned that police arrested suspect Muntaru Iddrisu at the Tamale Aboabo Market, where he led officers to arrest Aminu Zebrilla, aka Birdman, a 35-year-old okada rider, at Dungu, a suburb of Tamale.
Aminu Zebrilla admitted to selling the phone to Muntaru Iddrisu for GH₵650.
Several items, including locally manufactured short gun, one locally manufactured pistol, four live BB cartridges, one locally manufactured sword with the inscription ‘Birdman’, one live 5.56×44 CZ ammunition, two live Revolver Ammunition, one Face mask, one Jack knife, a quantity of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp were retrieved following a further search conducted in the room of Aminu Zebrilla.
Other items included one talisman, one cutter, one catapult, 15 assorted mobile phones, one Jungle motorbike, 17 assorted wrist watches, five pen drives, one Telecel sim card and three
MTN sim cards which were removed from the phones that were snatched from victims during the robbery.
Further investigations revealed that Aminu Zebrilla is an ex-convict convicted of robbery in 2012.
Two other accomplices, Inusah Sumaila, also known as Agenda, aged 42, and Haruna Safiano, aged 32, were both subsequently arrested from their hideouts behind the Tamale China Mall.
COP Donkor assured that the police investigations are ongoing to apprehend other suspects believed to be on the run and to retrieve a weapon believed to be in their possession.
By Prince Fiifi Yorke