Day: January 25, 2023

Accra, Jan. 25, GNA – The Black Galaxies of Ghana will face Niger in the quarter-finals stage in the ongoing African Nations Championship (CHAN) on Saturday 28th January 2023 in Algeria.

Ghana booked a slot in the next stage of the competition after finishing second in Group C with six points behind Madagascar who finished with nine points.  

Coach Annor Walker and his men despite having a poor start in the tournament with a loss to Madagascar in the opening Group C match would hope to dispatch Niger to cruise to the last four.

Ghana would go into the clash without captain Daniel Afriyie Barnieh who picked up a red card in the last game against Sudan and Gladson Awako would also be unavailable due to injury.

Ghana is in search of her first CHAN title after edging close in 2011 and 2014.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, Jan. 25, GNA – One-time World Boxing Organisation (WBO) Super Bantamweight champion, Isaac Dogboe, has admitted that the fight against Cuban Robeisy Ramirez will be a tough battle as they lock horns on Saturday, April 1, in the United States of America (USA).

Dogboe, nicknamed (Royal Storm), has (24-2, 15 KO) and would battle two-time Olympian gold medalist Ramirez (11-1, 7KO) for the vacant WBO Featherweight title. 

Ahead of the bout, he said, “My opponent is a great fighter, he is good. I keep saying that at this level no one is a pushover. Everyone is strong and sharp. It’s like a battle between kings and it’s about winning thrones too.” 

“His career is on a fast track. He has won some good fights and we are doing our homework because we know who we are going up against.” 

The one-time world champion’s last fight was on July 24, 2022, when he won against Joet Gonzalez in a split decision for the WBO International Featherweight.

“There is no assurance in boxing, you decide what you want and you train enough for it, you go out there and take what you want, so our mission is to train and prepare until we go out there and fight hard. 

“My opponent is a great fighter, he is good, and I keep saying that at this level no one is a pushover. Everyone is strong and sharp. It’s like a battle between kings and it’s about winning thrones too,” he added. 

Source: Ghana News Agency

A Madina District Court has sentenced Peter Michael Ifaenyi aka Peter Yaw Asare, a Nigerian Computer Engineer, to 450 days imprisonment for attempting to obtain a Ghanaian Passport twice.

Ifaenyi, 26, who was charged with attempting to obtain Ghanaian passports by false declaration, pleaded guilty.

The Court therefore sentenced him on his own plea and handed down a custodial sentence without an option of a fine.

Prosecution led by Chief Superintendent of Immigration Adolf Assenso, informed the court that accused person was known for his wanton disregard for authority.

He therefore prayed the Court to hand down a custodial sentence on the accused without any option of a fine to serve as deterrent to like-minded persons.

The case as narrated by the Prosecution is that the accused person, now a convict, was arrested on January 4, 2023, at the Accra Passport Application Centre, around Tema Station in Accra.

It said while the accused person was undergoing the processes of acquiring a Ghanaian Passport, officials of the Ghana Immigration Service suspected that he was not a Ghanaian as he claimed.

“He was subsequently referred to the National Enforcement Section at the Immigration Headquarters for further investigations.

The Prosecution further told the Court that at the National Enforcement Section, it was detected that the accused person had earlier on been arrested for the same offence on November 17, 2022, at the Premium Passport Application Centre (Premium PAC), Circle Accra.

It said accused person was granted service enquiry bail and was later charged with the offence of attempting to obtain a Ghanaian passport by false declaration contrary to Section 52 of the Ghana Immigration Act, 2000 (Act 573) on the December 8, 2022.

The Prosecution said the accused person was to appear before the Kaneshie District Court one on December 2022 for prosecution but he refused to appear.

It said accused person managed to outwit officials at the Birth and Death Registry and the National Identification Authority to obtain again the same Ghanaian birth certificate with entry number 1867 and a Ghana Card with personal ID number GHA-728134693-3 which he used in his earlier attempt and which were in the custody of the Ghana Immigration Service.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, Jan. 25, GNA – A 31-year-old welder, who allegedly robbed a driver of GHS 1050.00 being his one-week sales and bolted, has been granted bail by an Accra Circuit Court.

Cephas Bortey, charged with robbery, pleaded not guilty.

The Court presided over by Mrs Rosemary Baah Tosu admitted the accused person to bail in the sum of GH?100,000.00 with two sureties.

The case has been adjourned to February 14, 2023.

Police Inspector W. B. Kwafo, prosecuting, told the Court that the complainant was a driver and resided at Nungua, while the accused person was a resident of Nungua Traditional Council Area.

The prosecution said on January 3, 2023, at about 2230 hours, the complainant and his mate took passengers from Accra Post Office to Nungua and on reaching Teshie Mobil, complainant’s sprinter bus developed a fault and had no option than to provide the passengers with another bus to Nungua.

It said the accused person and three others, who were also on the bus that night, attacked the complainant and his mate and, in the process, robbed them GHS1,050 cash, being sales made for the week, bolted in a getaway taxi.

The prosecution said on January 19, 2023, about 2030 hours the complainant’s mate spotted the accused in their bus again when they were driving from Accra to Nungua and informed the complainant.

It said the complainant drove to the Osu Police station and informed the Police for the arrest of the accused person, but he denied the offence in his investigation cautioned statement.

Source: Ghana News Agency

An Accra Circuit Court has ordered the arrest of two persons allegedly involved in $100,000 gold scam case.

The Court presided over by Mrs Samuel Bright Acquah issued the bench warrant when prosecution led by Inspector Wisdom Alorwu had prayed for the warrant.

When the matter was called before the Court, the two accused persons namely Yahaya Bin Yahaya and Ibrahim Ba, were absent.

Meanwhile, two other accused persons, Iddrisu Yakubu and Zongo Yakuoba, are said to be at large.

The four accused persons were alleged to collected $100,000 from one Llyod Beckford under the pretext of supplying him 50 kg of gold but failed.

The accused persons have been jointly charged with conspiracy to commit crime and defrauding by false pretences.

Prosecution therefore prayed the Court for a bench warrant ,saying he personally informed the accused persons and informed them about the court date.

The case’s facts as seen by the GNA indicated that the complainant is a financial consultant at Cantonments, Accra.

Accused persons Yahaya Bin Yahaya and Ibrahim B Town are businessman and electronic engineer, respectively. The two accused persons also reside at Accra Nii and East Legon, respectively.

In 2021, the complainant came to Ghana to transact a gold business and met Yahaya Bin Yahaya, and they became friends, and they started communicating.

The complainant left Ghana and returned in the month of May 2022 where Yahaya and Ibrahim met him and assisted him to buy a kilogramme of gold and exported same successfully.

In the same year month, Yahaya and Ibrahim conspired with Yakubu and Zongo Yacouba now at large to collect $100,000 from the complainant under the pretext of supplying him 50 kg of gold for export.

The accused persons after collecting the money began playing “hide and seek” with the complainant.

On August 6, 2022, the complainant reported the matter to the Police and Yahaya and Ibrahim were arrested.

Police say Yakubu and Yacouba are said to be at large, and efforts were being made to get them arrested.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, Jan. 25, GNA – Three officers of the Northern Development Authority (NDA) and Mr Andrew Kuundaari, the Chief Executive Officer of A&QS Consortium, have been arraigned before court over procurement breaches. 

The three officers are Mr Sumaila Abdul-Rahman, the Chief Executive, NDA, Mr Stephen Yir-eru Engmen, Deputy Chief Executive (Operations) and Mr Patrick Seidu, Deputy Chief Executive (Finance and Administration). 

The four persons have been charged for conspiring to commit the crime of arraigned of directly or indirectly influence the procurement process to “obtain an unfair advantage in the award of a procurement contract.”  

They have since arraigned before the Criminal Division of the Tamale High Court on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. 

According to the Office of the Special Presecutor (OSP), the act of the four persons was contrary to Section 23(1) of the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) and Section 92(2) b of the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663). 

It said that they agreed to act together with a common purpose of directly or indirectly influencing a procurement contract under the implementation of the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication (IPEP) by increasing without lawful authority, the total sum of GHS5,720,000 to GHS10,400,000. 

A private legal practitioner, Mr Martin Luther Kpebu, lodged a complaint at the OSP in June 2022 for investigations to be conducted into the operations of NDA and the actions of its Chief Executive and its Board Chairman. 

The complainant alleged that NDA awarded a contract to A&QS Consortium on 28 January 2020 for consultancy services for the supervision of some constituencies in the Upper West Region under the IPEP for the contract sum of GHS5,720,000.00). 

However, upon the exit of the then Acting Chief Executive who executed the contract, the contract sum was illegally increased to GHS10,400,000.00. 

This was done by the removal of the page having the original figure of GHS5,720,000.00 and its replacement at page 25 clause 33.1 of the contract with a fresh page having the bloated figure of GHC10,400,000.00 to make it appear as if it is the contract executed by the previous Acting Chief Executive. 

The OSP said following the complaint, it interviewed 20 persons over a period of four months, as part of the investigation – which was multi-pronged and spanned a period of six 

months before coming out with its conclusion. 

It directed the Controller and Accountant General to immediately freeze payments to A&QS under NDA’s implementation of the IPEP until the close of the investigation.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, Jan. 25, GNA – Two persons who allegedly orchestrated the robbery of GHS900,000 cash at Maamobi, a suburb of Accra, have been granted bail.

George Ayitey Mensah, a 32-year-old Okada Rider and Hakeem Seini, a 27-year-old businessman were granted bail in the sum of GHS1-million each with three sureties each.

The court presided over by Mr Samuel Bright Acquah ordered that two of the sureties should be civil servants earning not less than GHC2,000.

According to the court the other sureties are to be family members.

It further ordered the accused persons to report to the Police once a week.

The two accused persons who have been charged with conspiracy to commit crime to wit robbery and robbery, have denied the offences.

The facts as narrated by Superintendent of Police Augustus Yirenkyi said on January 3, 2023, at about 14 00 hours, the Nima Divisional Patrol Team during their usual patrol duties within the Nima community met a group of people on the Mallam Addo Mosque Road and was informed about a robbery incident that had occurred.

The Prosecution said the team then moved to the main Nima- Maamobi Highway where the victims were identified as George Ayitey Mensah and Hakeem Seini.

It said Hakeem Seini had indicated that he was transporting an amount of GHC900,000 from Rawlings Circle, Accra to Maamobi and had contracted George Ayitey Mensah, an Okada Rider to convey him together with the money to the destination.

Prosecution further told the Court that the accused persons had alleged that two young men on unregistered motorbike wearing full face helmet and all armed with pistols crossed them on Mallam Addo Mosque, Road, fired some shots and robbed them of the said amount.

The Prosecution said Hakeem Seini claimed ownership of the money involved.

According to prosecution, it however turned out that Hakeem Seini was not the lawful owner.

It said George Ayitey Mensah, the Okada Rider was captured in CCTV footage signaling the robbers to cross him a few meters to the scene of the crime.

Additionally, the prosecution said: “There is a very high suspicion that the two (accused persons) and the robbers, now at large conspired to commit the crime.”

The prosecution said an investigation was underway.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra, Jan. 25, GNA – An Accra Circuit Court has granted bail in the sum of GHS 50,000.00 to a Lathe Turner over alleged possession of firearms without proper authority.

Mr Nicholas Issah Ativi aka “Mawutor Mawuli” charged with possession of firearms without proper authority, pleaded not guilty.

The Court presided over Mr Samuel Bright Acquah admitted the accused person to bail with one surety and had directed that the surety should be a civil servant who was resident within the jurisdiction of the court.

The case has been adjourned to February 8, 2023.

Prosecuting Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Emmanuel Haligah narrated to the Court that the accused was a resident of Odawna, Accra.

The Prosecution said in December 2022, the Police Administration launched a special operation nationwide to ensure incident free before, during and after the Christmas period.

It said as part of the operation, the Police mounted a special checkpoint across Accra Metropolis focusing on suspected motorbike riders and their pillion riders.

The Prosecution said on January 16, 2023, at about 1330 hours, the accused person was arrested by Police Officers on duty at the Ghanaian Times Roundabout Snap Check Point.

It said the accused person was then handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.

The Prosecution said he was taken to his place of abode for a search to be conducted and during the search, two locally manufactured shotguns, two machetes, three jack knives and six daggers were retrieved.

The Prosecution said during investigation, the accused person admitted ownership of the exhibits found in his room and stated that he manufactured the two locally made shotguns and the six daggers in his machine shop.

It said the -accused person also stated that he bought the three jack knives from Dabala market in Volta Region and the two machetes from Timber Market in Accra.

Source: Ghana News Agency