The Tamale Circuit Court presided over by His Honor Francis Asobayire (ESQ), has convicted and sentenced two individuals: Nyankpani Hadi, 39, and Yussif Abdul Hamid, 18.
Hadi, unemployed received a sentence of nine years with hard labour, while Hamid, a student was sentenced to four years with hard labour for theft.
The two convicted individuals faced four charges, which comprised of conspiracy to commit a crime, namely stealing) in violation of Section 23(1) of the Criminal Offenses Act 1960 (Act 29), stealing contrary to Section 124(1), possession of stolen property in violation of Section 148(1), and having instruments intended or adapted for unlawful entry, according to the police charge sheet.
The two who appeared without legal representation pleaded guilty to all charges and were convicted on their own plea by the court.
His Honour Francis Asobayire, after carefully considering the prosecution’s case, imposed a sentence on the first accused, Nyankpani Hadi to seven years for Count 1, nine years for Count 2, nine years for Count 3, and nine years for Count 4, with all terms to run concurrently.
The second accused, Yussif Abdul Hamid, received a sentence of four years of hard labour on all four counts, also to run concurrently.
Both convicts have been detained and promptly transferred to Tamale Central Prison to commence their sentences.
Brief facts
On January 16, 2024, around 4:30 PM, some residents of Changli, a suburb of Tamale, alerted the Northern Regional Police Crime Unit about the arrest of two suspected thieves by a group known as the “ALUTA BOYS.”
The residents feared that the suspects were about to be lynched in Dagbondabafong, Changli.
Upon receiving the information, a team of police officers was dispatched to the area, where the two suspects were being held in a container and had been pepper-sprayed to prevent their escape.
The police engaged in dialogue with the youth and successfully rescued the suspects, identified as Nyankpani Hadi, aged 39, and Yussif Abdul Hamid, an 18-year-old student from Ofuman Senior High School.
The suspects were taken to the Regional Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in Tamale, along with an unregistered Haojue Dash 5 motorbike, an ITel smartphone, two motorcycle number plates, and tools including spanners and screwdrivers.
Following the allegations made, investigations were extended to the residences of convicts Nyankpani Hadi and Yussif Abdul Hamid in Soanayili, a suburb of the Sagnarigu Municipality, where searches were conducted.
The police recovered several items, including six keypad phones, six smartphones (three of which were iPhone XR devices), 215 labelled duplicate keys, two laptops, a military bag, cotton gloves, 20 labelled memory cards, and 20 SIM cards.
During interrogation, the convicts admitted to stealing the phones and other items from victims in Techiman, Tuobodom, Wenchi, Tumu, and Tamale.
Convict Nyankpani Hadi revealed the reason why 215 duplicate keys found in his house were labelled as such.
During cross-examination in court, he stated that the keys were secretly stolen from victims during his visits to their homes, and he later returned to steal from them.
During the hearing, the police prosecutors presented all the exhibits retrieved from the two convicts as part of their search and investigation.
The complainant, whose motorbike was stolen, was able to track it down, which led to the arrest of the convicts.
He has been invited to report and assist in the investigation for identification purposes.
Efforts are currently being made to contact other victims to aid in the investigation.
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