General News of Tuesday, 29 July 2008

Source: GNA

Fulani Herds jailed 200 years for robbery

Sekondi, July 29, GNA- The Sekondi High Court on Tuesday sentenced four Fulani headsmen to a total of 200 years for armed robbery. Issaka Bardey, Gariba Amadu, Mohammed Issa and Abdulai Karim, who pleaded not guilty for attempted robbery and robbery with offensive weapons, each received 50 years jail term.

Prosecuting Ms Patience Klinogo, a Principal State Attorney, told the court presided over by Mr. Justice Robin Batu that at about 2000 hours on July 19, 2007, the suspects armed with shot guns, locally manufactured pistols and machetes, mounted a road block at a spot near Sahoma hills, along the Bibiani-Abrofem road.

She said they attacked a number of vehicles and forced passengers to lie down with their faces on the ground and robbed them of cash and personal belongings including wrist watches, wedding rings and mobile phones.

He said three passengers who attempted to resist the robbery sustained gun shot wounds while one of them died after being discharged from hospital.

Ms Klinogo said a joint Police and Military detachment at the Central African Gold Mines at Bibiani were dispatched to the scene, by which the robbers had fled in a stolen vehicle which was abandoned after it got involved in an accident. She said Issaka and Amadu were later arrested with five mobile phones, 4,225,000 cedis and 9,000 CFA francs on them.