Five unknown armed men allegedly attacked and robbed a mobile money vendor at Zongo, a suburb of Tumu in the Sissala East Municipality at gunpoint and made off with GH¢600,000 and mobile phones.
The incident occurred on April 22, 2024, at about 1630hrs.
The victim of the robbery, Mr. Fuseini Issaka Quendar, a 45-year-old businessman, has since reported the incident to the Sissala East Municipal police command.
He told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the five men, who were all in long black jackets riding on three unregistered motorcycles with AK 47 rifles, entered the shop and at gunpoint, led him inside from the verandah and ordered everyone in the shop to lie down.
Mr. Fuseini said when they finished collecting the money, they shot into the shop and broke all the glasses.
He said one of the robbers spoke in Mossie and threatened to shoot him, but the other asked him to slash his throat.
“He raised the machete towards my head, but I hid my head under the bench and the cutlass landed on the wooden bench, and they left the cutlass in the shop and took off,” he explained.
Mr. Fuseini added that the armed men fired several shots into the air and went through the crowded Tumu lorry station and escaped towards the St. Clares Vocational school along the Gwollu road.
He indicated that, it took about 15 minutes before people began coming out from their shops and hideouts.
He explained that, on the morning of the day of the incident, a boy of Fulani extraction came to the shop and left the phone there for them to charge him, but moments after the robbery, he was taken away with the mobile phone and was never seen.
When the GNA asked why he kept such huge amounts of money in his shop, he explained that the money belonged to maize buyers who usually do business during the weekend.
“During weekends a lot of people transact business in cash in CFA, Cedis, and others across the borders, so we only (pick cash) on Friday and use it for the weekend business,” the victim stated.
He said he called the Police, but it took them about an hour before they arrived at the crime scene.
Meanwhile, the Police had commenced investigations after taking statements from the victim and had asked the victim to come with any information about the robbery, but no arrest had been made.
A day after the incident, over 15 mobile money operators in Tumu marched out of solidarity to the Paramount Chief of Tumu’s Palace, where they called for increased security or to stop their services.
About six months ago, at 1700 hours, a similar robbery attack during daylight with gunshots took place at another busy stretch around the intersection connecting Navrongo – Wa road where close to GH¢400,000 was taken away.
Three weeks ago, at Bujan in the Sissala East, a similar robbery incident occurred during a market day where robbers escaped with traders’ money.
Armed robbers attacked another mobile money vendor last year at Jefisi, where they collected all their monies and disrupted the day’s market.
Residents in Tumu are alarmed about the increased bravery of the armed men, who come into town centres to attack civilians with AK47 rifles, fearing that such attacks could increase if the security did not deal with the incidents.
Mr. Fuseini Yakubu Batong, the Sissala East Municipal Chief Executive, said the situation had caused them to hold an emergency security meeting.
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