Two soldiers held over robbery

Page 31: Daily Graphic, March 9, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
TWO soldiers from the 48 Field Engineers Regiment have been arrested by the police for attempted robbery.
The Accra Regional Police Command has taken over investigations into the conduct of Lance Corporal Imoro Ibrahim and Sepr Raymond Ntiri who were arrested by some civilians who had gone to the rescue of the person the soldiers wanted to rob of GH¢280.
Their arrest was on the instructions of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Lt Gen Blay, when they heard the conduct of the two soldiers.
The Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Rose Bio Atinga, told the Daily Graphic that the soldiers allegedly traced their victim from the Ring Road Central branch of the Western Union to the Nima Traffic Light intercession at 2 p.m. last Friday.
She said when the victim’s taxi reached the traffic intercession, the soldiers, who were also in a taxi, allegedly asked their driver to cross the victim’s taxi.
She said the victim was dragged out of his taxi and just when the soldiers were about pushing him into their taxi, the victim raised alarm, attracting passers-by to his rescue.
According to her, the soldiers were overpowered and taken to the Nima Police Station where they claimed the victim was a thief.
DCOP Atinga said when asked what the victim had stolen, the soldiers said it was a passer-by who had told them that he was a thief.
She said the driver of the taxi the soldiers were using, however, told the police that the soldiers had made him to wait at the premises of the Western Union for almost an hour and asked him to trail the victim as soon as he boarded a taxi.