Kidnappers of Canadian women: Mba ‘leaves it to God’ as he, 3 others freed
“I have nothing to say, I leave everything in the hands of God.” These were the words of Seidu Abubakar, aka Mba, as he walked out of the Accra High Court after he was set free over the kidnapping of two Canadian women in Kumasi on June 4, 2019.
Abubakar and three others – Abdul Nasir, Safiano Abubakari and Abdul Rahman Sulemana, aka Wofa, were discharged by the court yesterday following the decision of the Attorney-General (A-G) to drop the charges of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and kidnapping against them.
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Joy
The decision of the A-G not to prosecute the four persons was met with joy by the individuals and their family members, who were present in the courtroom.
In a spontaneous expression of joy, the father of Nasir got up and thanked the judge, Justice George Buadi, as well as the prosecutor and Senior State Attorney, Ms Hilda Craig.
“God bless you, God bless you,” he shouted with intermittent sobs. He had to be escorted out of the courtroom.
Fresh charges
The four persons having been discharged, it is left with four others, made up of three Nigerians and a Ghanaian, who are on trial for allegedly kidnapping Ms Lauren Tilley and Ms Bailey Chitty, the two Canadians.
The Nigerians are Sampson Aghalor, aka Romeo, 27, a computer engineer; Elvis Ojiworye, 27, a businessman, and Jeff Omarsa, a tiler, while the Ghanaian is Yusif Yakubu.
They have been charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and kidnapping. All of them pleaded not guilty to the charges at the court yesterday.
Reason for the discharge
In her submission, Ms Craig said the A-G after a review decided not to prosecute Abubakar, Nasir, Abubakari and Suleimana, all Ghanaians.
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“After a review of the docket presented to us after investigations, we have decided not to prosecute some of the accused persons. We wish to substitute the charge sheet filed earlier with a new one,” she said.
The court, subsequently, discharged the four men, while Aghalor, Ojiyorwe, Omarsa and Yakubu were made to plead to the new charges.
Hearing continues on October 31, 2019.
Plot
The prosecution’s facts as presented by Ms Craig were that Aghalor, who had been in Ghana for some time, became a friend to Yakubu in March 2019.
In the course of their friendship, Aghalor brought up the idea of kidnapping as a lucrative venture, which was accepted by Yakubu.
Yakubu agreed to assist Aghalor in the kidnapping activity and even purchased a pistol at GH¢3,700 for Aghalor.
To bring their idea to fruition, the prosecutor said Aghalor went to Nigeria in May 2019 and recruited Ojiyorwe and Omarsar to be part of the gang.
According to her, the three Nigerians, upon their arrival in Ghana, resided at Ashaiman for some time before they went to Kumasi to meet with Yakubu.
“In Kumasi, the four persons discussed the agenda of kidnapping white people (expatriates) and getting good money from them. Yakubu was tasked by Aghalor to arrange the necessary things needed for the kidnapping operation,” the prosecutor said.
She said Yakubu bought the items needed for the kidnapping, including pistols and also rented a car.
The prosecutor added that on June 4, 2019, the group tested the pistols and afterwards set off to town in search of prospective victims.
Read also: Canadians kidnapped in Kumasi
Kidnapping of Canadians
The two Canadians were in Kumasi for voluntary work.
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According to the prosecutor, on that fateful day that the gang set out to kidnap people, Ms Tilley and Ms Chitty, in the company of other colleagues, left a restaurant for their apartment at Nhyiaeso, a suburb of Kumasi, in an Uber taxi.
She said the gang accosted the two ladies.
“Just when they alighted from the taxi, the gang drove their vehicle close to them and grabbed them amid shootings,” the prosecutor said.
The gang kidnapped the two ladies and hid them in an uncompleted building at Amoam Achiase in the Kwabre District in the Ashanti Region, Ms Craig explained.
During their captivity, Aghalor contacted the parents of the two women and demanded a ransom of $800,000.
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“To frighten the parents to send the money, the gang smeared the bodies of the victims with the blood of a fowl, took pictures and forwarded same to their parents,” the prosecutor added.
Rescue
Ms Craig told the court that on June 11, 2019, security operatives, acting on intelligence, arrested Yakubu.
Afterwards, the team proceeded to arrest Aghalor, Ojiyorwe and Omarsar at their hideout at Kenyasi Krobo and rescued the two women.
“During the rescue mission, Ojiyorwe and Omarsar threatened to kill the victims if the security agents dared them. They exchanged fire with the security agents until they were overpowered and arrested,” she said.
Writer’s email: emma.hawkson@graphic.com.gh