Kofi Ampeah Woode
The Police has apprehended the suspect behind the theft of $70,000.00 (Seventy thousand dollars) from a Nigerien national just two days after the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mr Christian Tetteh Yohuno ordered the detention and interdiction of three policemen linked to the investigation.
At least $10,000.00 (Ten thousand dollars) and some amount of Ghana Cedis from the booty is what the suspect, 31-year old Abdul Munaf Lawal aka Doctor reportedly informed the police has remained so far.
However, our source close to the Accra Regional Police Command who are conducting enquiry into the bizarre occurrence fell short of stating if the said amount has been retrieved as part of exhibits that the criminal investigators would rely on to advance their case.
The writer is withholding the names of the three policemen for now.
Narrating his ordeal to this reporter, a Tema based 49-year old black maketeer, Abdulai Salifu states that around mid morning of Tuesday April 8, 2025, he received a call from Kumasi by a colleague to assist the caller’s client in Accra to acquire $70,000.00 (Seventy thousand dollars).
The businessman states that he fell on a colleague, Hamza, who provided Ten thousand dollars and also Sixty thousand dollars from another, Safianu and both in turn put together the required amount.
Salifu went on that, the client who introduced himself as a staff of Parliament House impressed upon him for the business to be transacted at the Legon Campus Branch of ECOBANK after 1800 hours the same day.
The client claimed that he would close late hence that time.
The Nigerien continued that he got to the location around half past six and later, the said client also arrived in a V-8 Land Cruiser nose masked and invited him into the plus vehicle for them to transact the business there.
The client, Salifu said, told him that even though the bank closed he was going to take the amount through the back door for its genuineness to be verified with counterfeit detecting machine which, for unexplained reasons, he accepted.
The client asked him to remain in the vehicle and wait for him with the driver.
Barely ten minutes after he headed to the back of the bank with the dollars, a police patrol vehicle pulled and the leader of the team in uniform got down but others remained.
He walked toward the Land Cruiser shouting ‘doc doc’, stopped by the driver’s side and enquired the whereabout of ‘doc’ who he the officer claimed had called on phone severally without response.
At this juncture, a man in mufti but wore bulletproof vest opened and entered the V-8 without a word to they the occupants.
The driver seated behind the steering wheel then reached out for his phone and stated that, Inspector (name being withheld) was around while the phone was passed on to the said officer and both spoke.
Salifu further stated that, he remained in the Land Cruiser together with the person in plainclothe but the driver and the Inspector stood aside and had some discussion after which the officer ordered the driver to move the car and follow his patrol vehicle to the police station.
According to the black market operator, both vehicles stopped few meters to the Charge Office and all the occupants of both vehicles including himself disembarked.
Meanwhile the three policemen in uniform and the one in bulletproof vest together with the Land Cruiser driver converged and engaged in talks.
Moments later, as he sat by, saw the driver and the vest wearing person hurried in to the vehicle, sparked and as he rushed to also get onboard, they sped off at top speed and even though he shouted that his money was with those in the car, the police looked on less concerned.
He reached out to his colleagues and tribesmen and in no time they stormed the Legon Police Station and created commotion leading to the District Commander herself being compelled to be present at that ungodly time.
Both Salifu and his colleagues together with the three policemen were paraded before the District Police boss for interrogation after which Safianu lodged a complaint against errand man Salifu that he was rather the owner of the amount which was stolen.
Salifu went on that he was subsequently detained in cells from 0400 hours of Wednesday April 9, 2025 till in the night of Thursday April 10, 2025 before he was granted bail.
On Monday April 7, 2025, he went to the Police Headquarters to report and was made to petition the Director General of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for action.
The case was referred to the Anti Armed Robbery Unit the following day and just before the respected squad could put on their action apparel, the docket was sent from Legon to Accra Regional Police Command.
A source at the summit of Police Administration who preferred anonymity told this reporter that the IGP, Mr Yohuno, literally charged on his men in Accra when his intelligence suggested that the Regional Police Commander had no knowledge of the case but the Crime Officer was aware.
The deep throat source continued that the new Chief Constable on that same Wednesday night ordered for the detention and interdiction of the three Police Officers, which was carried to the letter.
On Good Friday, April 18, 2025, barely 48 hours after the issuance of IGP’s fiat, the suspect, Abdul Munaf Lawal, was apprehended by the police.
On Saturday April 19, 2025, as part of the investigation, he took the detectives to Kumasi where he claimed that the sixty thousand dollars was spent on gambling.
Stay tuned as reporter tiptoes behind the detectives to unravel the mystery behind the theft.
Credit: Moses Kwesi Dautey
