Police place GH¢5,000 bounty on suspected robber

The police have placed a GH¢5,000 bounty on the leader of the 12-member suspected robbery gang that allegedly engaged the police in a shootout, leading to the death of one policeman.

The suspect, Nathaniel Baidoo, alias King Kong, is suspected to have escaped during the gun battle with the police on January 7, 2015.

As a result of the exchange of gunshots during the anti-robbery operation, a 31-year-old policeman, Corporal Prince Charles Akattah, was shot, leading to his death.

In a statement made available to media houses, the Accra Regional Police Command said anyone who volunteered credible information leading to Baidoo’s arrest would receive the financial reward.

The police also entreated the public to assist with information which would lead to the arrest and prosecution of two of Baidoo’s accomplices who also escaped during the fire combat.

They are Effah Kojo, alias Obolo, and Kwabena Kuma, alias Kwabena Mark.

“Information on the whereabouts of the suspects should be directed to the Accra Regional Police Command, the nearest police station or police emergency lines 0302 773695, 0302 773906 or the Crime Fighters MTN and Vodafone short code 18555 or 919,” the statement said.

On January 7, 2015, the Accra Regional Police Command arrested six out of the 12 suspected armed robbers after the fire combat that left one policeman and two armed robbers dead.

The suspected armed robbers, with ages ranging between 21 and 28, were said to have exchanged fire with the police as the robbers hit a snag under hot pursuit near Weija at midnight.

source : ghanaweb

Ruby's mother for Court

Akua Adubofo, the 58-year-old mother of incarcerated drug baroness Nayele Ametefe aka Ruby Adu-Gyamfi, has been provisionally charged for assault and would be sent to court anytime soon.

Madam Adubofo, according to police reports, assaulted an official of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) who was on official duties, for taking pictures of the residence of Nayele Ametefe who is currently serving an eight-year-eight-month jail term in the United Kingdom (UK).

She was arrested in the UK on November 10, 2014 after using the VVIP lounge of the Kotoka International Airport to embark on the trip that led to her waterloo.

The NACOB official, who was in the company of his colleagues, was assigned to begin the process for possible confiscation of the properties suspected to have been acquired directly from the proceeds of the drugs trade by the suspect’s daughter, Ruby.

The NACOB officials had gone to the East Legon house of the convicted drug dealer to paste seizure notices on the building when the brawl ensued.

Madam Adubofo, the reports indicated, was unhappy with the conduct of the NACOB officials and allegedly slapped one of them.

Unconfirmed reports indicated that a tooth of the NACOB official fell off due to the intensity of the slap.

A formal report was then lodged with the Airport Police Command last Wednesday by the assaulted party and Madam Adubofo was invited and detained by the police on Thursday.

Superintendent Yao Tetegah, the Airport Police Commander, confirmed to DAILY GUIDE that Madam Adubofo was granted bail the same day since the offence was a bailable one.

“Police have since invited witnesses in the case to give their statements after which the matter will be sent to court for prosecution,” the police chief said.

Supt Tetegah said the duty of the police is to investigate any matter brought before them, irrespective of its nature, after which it will be sent to court for prosecution, if need be.

He could not tell when the case would be sent to court but added that it would surely happen unless the parties involved express their disinterest in the case.

Meanwhile, a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Abigail Akwambea Mensah, says the mother of Ruby must be interrogated on the cocaine saga.

Abigail Mensah, who contested for the deputy youth organiser position of the NDC with the result still pending after a dispute, said on Joy Fm Newsfile programme on Saturday that Ruby’s mother could not be completely unaware of her daughter’s illegal activities.

She said the state must subject Madam Adubofo to thorough interrogation to ascertain if there was any level of complicity.

Lawyers for the convicted drug baroness, in pleading for mitigation for their client, said Ruby had been introduced to a lavish lifestyle after divorcing her husband.

And with three children to take care of, as a single mother, she found the drug trafficking business quite lucrative.

But Abigail Mensah would not have any of that, insisting that the convict, who got married at 16, could have taken care of her three children without resorting to the peddling of drugs.

She said all of Ruby’s assets acquired through the proceeds of cocaine must be confiscated to serve as a deterrent to other young women who might see the drugs trade as lucrative.

While criticising Ruby, the NDC member said Madam Adubofo must also take some responsibility for what happened.

She said mothers must at all times guide their children and be vigilant as well as know what kind of businesses their children engage in.

She wondered how Ruby’s mother enjoyed the largesse from the cocaine proceeds without asking questions as regards where the money was coming from.

Another member of the panel, Afi Agbenyo, a social activist, however said NACOB officials ought to have been a bit more diplomatic in dealing with the mother of the convict.

She said already she might have been going through some trauma following the incarceration of her daughter and would obviously not be in a good mood if NACOB officials went to her house to begin confiscation processes.

source : ghanaweb

Mistrial for white ex-police chief in black man's death

ORANGEBURG, S.C. — A judge has declared a mistrial in the case of a former small-town white police chief charged with murdering an unarmed black man in 2011.

Judge Edgar Dickson made the decision in the Richard Combs case just after 2 a.m. Tuesday, after the jury told him it remained deadlocked. Dickson thanked the jurors for their service, then dismissed them.

Combs shot and killed 53-year-old Bernard Bailey in May 2011, but wasn't charged with murder until last month.

An Orangeburg County grand jury indicted Combs Dec. 3, the same day a New York grand jury's refusal to indict an officer in the chokehold death of an unarmed black man set off demonstrations across the nation.

Jurors had been deliberating for almost 12 hours, and had three options before them: convict Combs of murder, convict on the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, or acquit him outright. In the end, however, they couldn't come to an agreement on any of those choices.

The final vote was 9-3 in favor of guilt, but it's unclear if that was for the murder or involuntary manslaughter charge.

Just before 11:30 p.m. Monday, jurors first told the judge they couldn't reach a decision. At that point, the judge read them what's known as the Allen Charge, a special instruction that encourages jurors in the minority to reconsider their decision.

While it's unclear what hung up jurors, during deliberations, they asked the judge for the legal definitions of murder, manslaughter, malice, and reasonable doubt.

At one point in the jury's deliberations, at approximately 9:40 p.m., the jury sent the judge a communication to ask about the score of the college football national championship game between the Oregon Ducks and Ohio State. The Buckeyes ultimately took the title, 42-20.

Both the prosecution and the defense said afterward they were disappointed by the outcome, and members of the Bailey's family left the courtroom in tears. First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe, who prosecuted the case, said he will pursue a retrial on the murder charge.

Combs killed Bailey on May 2, 2011, outside the Eutawville Police Department, the agency Combs led — and was the sole officer for — at the time. Combs and Bailey had a disagreement that arose after Combs ticketed Bailey's daughter, Briana Bailey, for a broken tail light in March of 2011.

When she was pulled over, Briana Bailey called her father from her cellphone, and he arrived a short time later. Combs said Bernard Bailey was aggressive once he got to the scene, and Combs weeks later pursued a warrant against the man for obstruction of justice .

Prosecutors, though, played dashcam video that they said showed him calmly walking around and even saying a cordial goodbye to Combs. Bailey's daughter testified that her father was compliant and never threatened the defendant.

During their deliberations, jurors asked to see that video another time.

On the day of the killing, Bailey went to the police station to see if he could get the ticket against his daughter dismissed. During his testimony on the witness stand, Combs said Bailey repeatedly tried to talk about his daughter's ticket, but Combs told him he would only discuss the matter with the daughter. Combs said Bailey then became very aggravated.

It was at that point that Combs revealed to Bailey that he had a warrant against him, and intended to arrest him. Bailey left the building, and Combs pursed him into the parking lot.

Prosecutors said repeatedly that Combs was unjustified in following Bailey. "He had a month and a half to cool off," Pascoe said during closing arguments. "And he didn't do it. This wasn't just a save face warrant for that night. This was a chief of police who'd been on the job for two weeks and he was going to make an example out of Briana Bailey's father. He did."

Combs' attorneys said he then attempted to handcuff Bailey, but wasn't successful, and dropped the restraints on the ground. After Bailey got in his truck, Combs reached through the vehicle's window in an attempt to stop him from leaving.

What happened next became one of the central focuses of the trial. Combs and his legal team maintained that Bailey reversed his truck, causing Combs to feel threatened, leading him to pull out his service weapon and fire three fatal shots at Bailey.

"He put the chief in the impossible position that he has to decide does he want to go home to his family or does he want to hope that his truck doesn't go over the top of him," said defense attorney Wally Fayssoux. "Does he want to hope he's not gravely injured. Does he want to hope that he's not killed."

In countering that claim, prosecutors zeroed in on the placement of the handcuffs that Combs dropped. They argued, using photographs taken at the scene, that the restraints should have been in front of the car, and not beside the door, if the vehicle had backed up several feet when Bailey reversed his car. They claimed that proved that Combs pulled out his weapon as soon as he got to the door of the vehicle.

Combs was originally charged with misconduct in office in August of 2013. The indictment accused Combs of unnecessarily using deadly force. Bailey's attorneys announced they planned to use the "stand your ground" defense in the trial on that charge. But the judge in the case denied the use of the defense on November 25, 2014, clearing the way for Pascoe to file the murder charge in December.

SOURCE :usatoday.com

Fifi Kwetey: ‘Otabil preaches doom when NDC is in power’

Minister for Food and Agriculture Fifi Kwetey has accused the Head Pastor of the International Central Gospel Church Dr Mensa Otabil of deliberately altering his sermons to that of doom and despair anytime the ruling National Democratic Congress is in power.

He alleges, also, that the popular motivational speaker again changes his messages to that of hope and optimism when the main opposition New Patriotic Party assumes the governance of the country.

“Before the 2000 elections, virtually no day passed without Mensa Otabil talking about the leadership of Ghana being the problem and the need for a change in leadership.

“Suddenly, NPP comes into power and the narrative of Mensa Otabil changed; now it’s no more a leadership problem but the problem became the people of Ghana.

“So NPP comes into office and suddenly we have angels governing Ghana.So the message changed because some party was in power and as soon as the party goes, the problem then came back to the leadership,” the former deputy finance minister noted on Radio Gold Tuesday.

source : ghanaweb

Metro Mass investigations will restore public confidence – MD

The Managing Director (MD) of the Metro Mass Transit Ltd, Mr Noble Appiah, has said investigations into the operations of the company should lead to the confidence of the public as they are aimed at putting things right.

“The alleged malfeasance that is being uncovered is at best dividends of good corporate governance that everyone must be equally held to,” he said.

Mr Appiah said this in an interview with the Daily Graphic on the sidelines of a workshop on effective transport management in Accra.

He said he appreciated the challenges associated with introducing change and added that although some workers in the company might want to resist the change that he intended to bring in the company’s operations, he was committed to the cause.

“I will remain focused and work in the best interest of the company and the public at large. The company will not detract from its objective of transforming into a modern public transport operator,” he said.

According to Mr Appiah, the management of the company has crafted a five-year strategic plan, with seven goals, which seeks to retool the company, make it more customer focused and financially sustainable with an improved working environment.

The strategic plan, he said, also stated the measures to be put in place to incorporate safety and risk management in all its processes and provide regular training and a reward scheme for staff.

The plan would also spell out several projects to make MMT customer friendly, including installing entertainment gadgets at its terminals and equipping frontline staff with good customer service skills, he added.

“The strategic plan also talks about expanding access by increasing our fleet of buses and introducing new routes while reorganising existing routes. The company also intends to diversify its services by adding international routes and specialised services for targeted clients,” he said.

Mr Appiah said another key goal of the MMT was to make itself financially sustainable. In that regard, procurement would be looked at and all revenue leakages blocked.

He said contrary to claims in recent times, the company was not in dire financial straits.

Mr Appiah said the company recorded a 100 per cent growth in its operating profit in 2013 and 80 per cent growth in net profit and was set on the path of profitability.

The company, he said, had been able to achieve that though its fares were 15 to 25 per cent lower than what pertained in the country.

According to him, the company’s terminals were currently being rehabilitated while moves had been initiated to procure new buses, some of which had been specifically built for intra-city services.

He spoke of his determination to transform the company and urged the staff to move in tandem with him.

He said systems were being put in place to reward hard work, as well as expose the bad lots.

SOURCE : ghanaweb

Obama to host summit to fight violent extremism

In the wake of terrorist attacks in France and elsewhere, the Obama administration announced Sunday it will host a Summit on Countering Violent Extremism next month.

The Feb. 18 event will "highlight domestic and international efforts to prevent violent extremists and their supporters from radicalizing, recruiting, or inspiring individuals or groups in the United States and abroad to commit acts of violence," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

Officials from the United States and other countries will participate.

Earnest said anti-extremist efforts are "even more imperative" in light of recent terrorist attacks in Ottawa and Sydney, as well as last week's mass shooting at a satirical magazine in Paris.

The White House announced the summit at the same time as a massive counter-terrorism rally in Paris that drew a number of world leaders, including Attorney General Eric Holder.

The administration said its strategy includes confronting the threat of extremism within individual neighborhoods, with the help of social services providers, educators, mental health professionals, religious leaders, and law enforcement agencies.

Citing pilot programs in Boston, Los Angeles and Minneapolis-St. Paul, Earnest said the summit to counter violent extremism "will highlight best practices and emerging efforts from these communities."

The summit will also feature officials from other nations discussing their projects, many of which focus on "the themes of community engagement, religious leader engagement, and the role of the private sector and tech community," Earnest said.

A list of participants and a specific agenda will be provided later, he said.

SOURCE :usatoday