Tema, March 28, GNA – Frank Amegadzi, trader and Baba Seidu, driver on Tuesday appeared before a Tema Community Tribunal charged with robbing the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) in Tema of 73 million cedis.
The tribunal chaired by Nana Agyemang Badu II did not take their plea but remanded them in custody re-appear on April 11. The Prosecutor, Chief Inspector Margaret Nunoo asked the tribunal to remand the accused persons in custody to allow the Police enough time to carry out full investigations into the case.
Mr Osafo Buabeng, Counsel for Amegadzi had applied for bail for his client saying that the facts did not directly connect him except that he was picked at an identification parade.
He explained that a mistake could be made at an identification parade since one could be mistaken for another person. Nana Agyemang Badu said it was necessary to allow the Police enough time to investigate because of the gravity of the case and the national interest.
Inspector Nunoo said that at 08:30 hours on December 10, 1999, Amegadzi, Seidu and four others on the run armed with AK 47 rifle attacked the ADB Agency at the Mankoadze Market Roundabout in Tema.
She said the robbers took away a steel box containing 73 million cedis and fired indiscriminately into the air to scare the people around, drove in a Land Cruiser without a registration number and sped away.
Chief Inspector Nunoo said the armed robbers abandoned the vehicle, stolen from the owner the previous day, at Ashale Botwe. She said the Tema Police in February this year, carried out a dawn swoop in some parts of Tema and Accra where they arrested some suspected criminals and kept them at the Police Headquarters, Accra.
Two days later, an identification parade was held where Amegadzi was picked and he later led the Police to arrest Seidu.
