Driver,24, sentenced 50 years for robbery

A 24 year-old driver, Adnaaan Razak was on Tuesday sentenced to 50 years imprisonment by an Accra Circuit Court for robbery and conspiracy to rob.

Adnaaan Razak and his accomplice robbed one Issac Baah of his Toyota Echo vehicle valued at GH?13,500.00; a Nokia Phone valued at GH? 40.00 and GH?78.00 cash.

Razak pleaded guilty to both charges and the court sentenced him to 50 years imprisonment on the count of robbery and 20 years for conspiracy to rob, both to run concurrently.

Although Razak pleaded guilty to the charge, his accomplice Isaac Osmanu denied the charge. Osmanu has since been remanded.

Handing down the sentence, the court noted that the activities of robbers have been on the increase and people like Razak and Osmanu do not deserve mercy but harsh sentences to serve as a deterrent.

The case as presented by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Patrick Morkeh is that, the complainant was a driver who resides at Taifa-Norway. Razak is also a driver and his accomplice, a driver’s mate, both resides at Ashiaman, Accra.

He said on March 24, this year, at about 02:20 hours the two armed with a pistol and cutlass respectively, went to Abeka Lapaz Bigot spot.

DSP Morkeh said Razak approached the complainant who was then in charge of the Toyota Echo Taxi cab with registration number GW 5219-13 for his services to Israel, a suburb of Ashiaman.

He said the second accused thereafter joined the accused in the vehicle, and on reaching a section of the road to Israel, Razak ordered the complainant to stop under an orange tree for them to alight, the complainant obeyed and stopped.

The first accused then pointed a pistol at the complainant and ordered him to surrender his ignition key, the second accused also pulled out a cutlass and both attacked the complainant, pushed him out of the car and succeeded in driving the car away.

The Prosecution told the court that the accused persons drove the car to a spraying shop at Kakasunanka No. 1 near Michel Camp.

He said upon a tip-off, the Afienya Police arrested the accused persons, handed them over to the Achimota police and upon investigation charged them with the offences.