The Tema Circuit Court A has remanded Eric Gyimah and two others at large for allegedly tying Daniel Azure’s neck with a rope and stealing his Toyota Vitz taxi cab.

The Taxi Cab is the property of Rutherford N. A. Amarteifio and is valued at Gh₵43,000.

The court, presided over by Ms. Agnes Opoku Banie, remanded the accused after a plea of not guilty was entered, and the case was adjourned to August 28 this year.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) George Doe, who was prosecuting, said the complainant, Azure, is a driver and resides at Kasoa Amanfrom in the Central Region, while Gyimah is a businessman and Agbodzahu Wobube is a nurse at Sogakope government hospital.

ASP Doe said both Gyimah and Wobube resided at Adidome in the Volta region.

The prosecution said on May 18, 2023, at about 1340 hours, Azure was in charge of a light grey and yellow-coloured taxi cab.

According to the prosecution, at a point near Coral Paint (a paint shop) in Accra, Gyimah and two other men, now at large, hired his services to convey them to a building site in the Central University area of Dawhenya to enable them to take pictures of the said building under construction and to send the same to their brother overseas.

The prosecution said Gyimah then sat in the front seat while the two other men sat at the back. On reaching the Aflao Highway, just after the Central University, Gyimah and his two other men directed the complainant to branch onto a rough road.

ASP Doe said that while they were on their way to the building site at a point, Gyimah asked the complainant to stop, which he obliged, and the three men alighted from the taxi.

They then told Azure to wait for them so that they could go and take pictures of the said building and come back. After a few minutes, they returned and sat again in their various seats in the taxi cab and asked the complainant to drive back towards Accra.

According to the prosecution, Azure turned the vehicle, and on their way, the two men seated behind him hooked his neck with a rope and pulled it against his seat, while Gyimah pulled out a knife on him.

ASP Doe said Azure held the knife, but Gyimah pulled it through his palm, and he sustained a cut in his right palm. Gyimah again used the knife to cut the leg of the Azure multiple times while the vehicle was still in motion, a situation that caused the car to move in a zigzag manner.

According to the prosecution, Gyimah then put off the engine of the taxi cab and forcefully took the ignition sensor, which was then hooked to Azure’s belt hole.

ASP Doe said Gyimah then came out of the front seat and pinned Azure down with the help of the other two men.

The three men managed to pull Azure out of the taxi cab and dump him in a pool of water on the road. Gyimah and the other two men sat in the taxi cab and drove away.

The prosecution said Azure staggered to his feet, proceeded to Dawhenya police station, and lodged a complaint the same day.

ASP Doe said Azure had his Samsung A11 mobile phone valued at Gh₵1,600.00 together with his A.M.A. licence and Driver’s licence in the car.

During investigations, the said taxi cab was spotted at a mechanic shop in Sogakope, having been embossed with a new number plate of GN5669-22.

According to the prosecution, Wobube was mentioned as the one who brought the taxi cab for repairs; thereafter, he was arrested, and upon investigation, he mentioned Gyimah as the one who sold the taxi cab to him for Gh₵30,000.00.

ASP Doe said Wobube led police to arrest Gyimah, who was identified by Azure as one of his attackers.

After investigations, Gyimah was charged with the offence and arraigned.