Unemployed man gets four-year jail term, 2 others remanded for alleged robbery
A 43-year-old unemployed man, Mohammed Ali Yusif, has been sentenced to four years imprisonment by an Accra Circuit Court for his involvement in a robbery case.
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He and two other individuals, namely Daniel Anafo, 21, and Tanko Mohammed, 35, were accused of breaking into the residence of a Caucasian woman and making off with various items valued at GH¢19,300.
The accused persons, Anafo and Yusif, were both charged with conspiracy and stealing by the Accra Circuit Court, presided over by Isaac Oheneba Kuffour, on August 13, 2023.
However, Anafo pleaded not guilty, whereas Yusif pleaded guilty, leading to his conviction and subsequent sentencing based on his plea.
The second accused, Tanko, pleaded not guilty to the charge of purchasing one of the stolen items, a Nikon digital camera, from the first accused, Anafo. As a result, Anafo and Tanko were remanded into police custody pending their trial.
Details
Presenting the facts of the case, Chief Inspector John Gohoho, said the complainant, Annabelle Augustina Calvert, was a fashion designer residing in East Legon, Accra.
The prosecutor said on March 4, 2023, around 10.30 p.m., the Accra Regional Police Intelligence Directorate received a tip-off regarding a young man at Achimota Charcoal Station in Accra who was allegedly in possession of a stolen digital voice recorder and was attempting to sell it.
He said following this information, a team of intelligence officers was despatched to the location.
They then arrested the first accused, Anafo, who was found with an Olympus digital voice recorder. Based on Anafo's statements, the team proceeded to Achimota Railways, where they arrested the second accused, Tanko, and retrieved a Nikon digital camera from him.
Further investigations revealed that Anafo had stolen the items from the complainant's residence and implicated the third accused, Mohammed Ali Yusif, as his accomplice. Yusif had been in hiding but was eventually arrested.
According to the prosecutor, investigation records indicated that on February 19, 2023, around 10 p.m., Anafo and Yusif, who were friends, met at their regular location at Achimota Railways, where they both resided. There, they planned the operation.
According to Chief Inspector John Gohoho, the two boarded a commercial vehicle from Abofu, Achimota, to the Accra Shopping Mall Roundabout.
They walked through the motorway, accessed the East Legon community, and arrived at the complainant's residence around midnight.
He said Anafo and Yusif broke the fence wall and balcony to enter through the backdoor. They subsequently stole the voice recorder, camera, a laptop computer, a black tablet, a Samsung Galaxy s3 mini phone, sets of lace fabrics and Kente cloths.
After the robbery, Anafo and Yusif fled and later sold the stolen items to various individuals, including the second accused, Tanko, the prosecutor added.