A media sensitisation workshop on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) is to be held on January 16, 2014 in Accra. Thirty journalists from selected media organisations will take part in the one-day event,  which is a partnership between the Graphic Communications Group Limited and the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organisational Development (CIKOD). Presentations on both sides of the debate would be made after which discussions would be held. A Deputy Director of CIKOD, Mr Wilberforce Laate, explained to the Daily Graphic that the sensitisation workshop was crucial, since it would equip journalists with the requisite knowledge of GMOs. According to him, the media is the vehicle for the dissemination of information so if journalists are not adequately informed, it is possible they will pass on the little they know to their readers and audience. “We think that the media should be exposed to all the facets of the debate,” he stated. The Editor of the Daily Graphic, Mr Ransford Tetteh, said the workshop was important because journalists needed knowledge and enlightenment on the subject before they could take the frontline role of informing people about the pros and cons of GMOs. He explained that since journalists set the agenda for society, they must be adequately informed in order to keep the gate to avoid the situation where some elements would try to hijack the media for propaganda. Mr Tetteh added that the debate on the GMOs was taking many twists with civil society groups emerging to support or oppose GMOs and that was why there was the need for a corps of well-informed journalists to lead the debate on the subject.    

  A 30-year-old father of three who defiled his eight-year old biological daughter has been sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment with hard labour by the Kumasi Circuit Court. The convict, Jude Kuunifaa, pleaded guilty to three counts of defilement, assault and incest.  He is also to serve three years each for assault and incest, but the sentences are to run concurrently. Kuunifaa took advantage of the absence of his wife, who had left the house for an evening church service, and defiled his daughter, who is his first born. The convict told the court that he had a chronic disease which made him fall often. This happened on the day of the incident and before he realised, he was on top of his daughter. His assertion made the audience burst into laughter. Prosecuting, Police Chief Inspector Gulliver Tenkorang told the court, presided over by Mr William Boampong, that the complainant in the case was the wife of the convict with whom the accused had three children. The prosecution said the couple lived at Sekyeredumase in the Ejura Sekyeredumase District   in  the   Ashanti Region.   At about 7 p.m. on January 3, this year,  the complainant left the house for a church service, leaving the victim to take care of her siblings. After about 30 minutes, the complainant returned home to take her drugs, only to find her husband on top of their daughter. Out of shock, the complainant raised an alarm that drew the attention of their neighbours.  This did not go down well with Kuunifa and to prevent his wife from making further noise, he subjected her to severe beating till she was rescued by a family member, who met the accused almost naked. The victim was taken to the Sekyeredumase Health Centre and later referred to the Ejura Government Hospital, where she was examined, treated and discharged.  

  The Obuasi train station, on the Kumasi to Sekondi-Takoradi rail line, has stopped operating since 2004. This is  due to damaged railway lines and constant  malfunctioning  of the train which operates on the line. Most of the  train  coaches have deteriorated and have been sent to Accra for  the past 10 years but have not returned. Just like the properties of the Ghana Railway Company elsewhere, the land closest  to the rail lines has been encroached upon. Years of neglect have resulted in the immediate surrounding of the station being dirty and overgrowing with weed. Windows of the building and the office furniture have been destroyed, some roofing sheets of the building have also spoilt as a result of the neglect and the signboard fixed in front of the building has blurred writing making it difficult to retrieve any information from it. The situation has given way to a number of illegal activities very close to the railway lines. A number of buildings, including drinking spots and grocery shops, have sprung up there. Apart from that, a cement block manufacturer and a vulcaniser have  teamed up to ply their trade near the rail lines.    Challenges Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the station master of the Obuasi train station, Mr Joseph Prah, said there were some challenges that had led to the closure of the station. He said the rail lines had suffered from the activities of galamsey operators, as they had removed certain metals from the rail lines. Mr Prah said the railway signal, an electrical device erected beside a railway line to pass information relating to the state of the line ahead to the train driver,  was not functioning either. The train cargo compartment, he said, supported the Anglo Gold Ashanti company  and farmers in the municipality in conveying their goods such as foodstuffs, timber, cocoa and mining equipment, but the cargo compactment was no longer working because of the bad nature of the railways lines. The station master said carrying goods on the train was safer and less expensive as compared to other vehicles, adding that the absence of the train services had affected mining and agricultural activities in the area.  “There is a need for renovation of the entire building making up the railway station and its surroundings because it will solve about 30 per cent of unemployment problems in the municipality,” he said. Mr Prah disclosed that due to the closure  of the station, all the engineers and some workers had been transferred to Awaso, Takoradi, Accra and other stations to assist them in their work. He said only a few workers were left at the Obuasi train station to protect the properties.  

  Nominees for the maiden Media and Broadcasting Awards have been released by the organisers, the Institute of Media Practice (IMP). Categories Nominees have been selected to compete for awards in 16 categories including, Media Entrepreneur of the Year, Radio Programme of the Year, Television Programme of the Year, New Media Practitioner of the Year, General News Media House of the Year and Print Media House of the Year. The others are: Radio Broadcaster or Practitioner of the Year, Television Broadcaster or Practitioner of the Year, Print Journalist of the Year, Radio Station of the Year, Television Station of the Year, Media Practitioner of the Year, Media Organisation of the Year. Some criteria  The President of the institute, Mr J. O. T. Agyeman, said in a statement that the criteria among other conditions included the radio programme that made the most measurable contribution to specific social causes.  The nominees It said Mr Kwesi Twum, Multimedia Group; Mr Osei Kwame Despite, Despite Group of Companies; Mrs Stella Wilson-Agyapong, Kencity Media, and Mr Edward Boateng, Global Media Alliance, have been nominated for the Media Entrepreneur of the Year while Nsem Pii of Happy FM; Joy FM’s Super Morning Show; Kokroko, Peace FM and Boiling Point of Oman FM would compete for Radio Programme of the Year. The Daily Graphic, TV3, Peace FM and the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation have been nominated to vie for the General News Media House of the Year with The Finder, Daily Graphic, Ghanaian Times and Daily Guide being nominated for Print Media of the Year. The statement said Messrs Ransford Tetteh of the Daily Graphic, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah of JOY FM, Kwame Sefa Kayi and Ms Gifty Anti were the nominees for the Media Practitioner of the Year while the Media Organisation of the Year would be contested for by Viasat 1; Graphic Communications Group Limited; TV3 and the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation It said the Print Journalist of the Year award would be keenly contested for by Mr William Asiedu of The Mirror; Ms Mabel Aku Baneseh of the Daily Graphic, Mr Cephas Larbi, Daily Guide and Edmund Kofi Yeboah of the Daily Graphic. On the award for Radio Broadcaster or Practitioner of the Year, it mentioned Kojo Oppong Nkrumah (Joy FM); Bernard Avle (Citi FM); Kwami Sefa Kayi (Peace FM) and Wisdom Agbodza (Nyansa Boakwa) (Happy FM) as the nominees with Odelia Ofori (TV3 News); Gifty Anti (The Stand Point); Paul Adom Otchere (Good Evening Ghana) and Randy Abbey (Good Morning Ghana) as the contestants for the Television Broadcaster or Practitioner of the Year. Other award categories are Television Programme of the Year; New Media Practitioner of the Year; Radio Station of the Year and Television Station of the Year. The rest are Environment Award; Arts, Culture and Entertainment Award; Social and Gender Award; Democracy and Governance Award and CSR Award. Frequency and purpose According to the statement, the awards, which will be an annual event, seeks to recognise and honor individual journalists and media organisations for excellence in specific areas of national life, including health, education, sanitation and entertainment.  

  Three pastors from the Jesus Called Prayer Ministry at Apedwa and Mankesim who claimed to be on a mission to heal mentally deranged persons in the Krobo area have found themselves at the wrong side of the law after they were arrested for kidnapping two mad women. The three men of God: Rev. Ashworth Kwame Amponsah, 33, Pastor Joseph Kwame, 26, and Pastor Kwame Amankwah, 40,  said  they were sending the mad women to Nkurakan, near Koforidua, to pray for their healing. However, their accuser, who is also the complainant, and a taxi driver were not convinced about the pastors’ explanation and, therefore, sent them to the Odumase-Krobo Police Station. After investigations, the police charged the pastors with conspiracy to commit crime and kidnapping and arraigned them before the Odumase-Krobo Circuit Court, presided over by Mr Asmah Akwasi Asiedu. All the three men pleaded guilty with explanation to both charges. They were, however, discharged and bonded to be of good behaviour for a period of six months or in default serve three months’ imprisonment.  Mr Asiedu, before passing the sentence, cautioned the three pastors that in doing the work of God, they should take into consideration the liberties and rights of all human beings.  He also told them that they did not have the right to capture mad persons from any community without the consent of the chief of that community or the police, and if possible their relatives.  According to Chief Inspector Tobias Amoadza, the complainant in the case lives at Salosi, a suburb of Somanya. He said Rev. Amponsah, Pastor Kwame and Pastor Amankwah also claimed to be pastors of the Jesus Called Prayer Ministries at Apedwa and Mankesim with its headquarters at Kasoa in the Central Region.  The prosecutor said on August 8, 2013, at about 8:30 am, the complainant saw a taxi driven by a witness in the case with three men on board coming from the direction of Odumase-Krobo towards Somanya.     The complainant, Chief Inspector Amoadza stated, said the taxi stopped and the three pastors came out of it and pounced on a mad woman who was walking beside the road. They then shoved her into the taxi. The prosecutor said the complainant hurriedly walked to the taxi and realised that there was another mad woman in it.  He became suspicious and confronted the pastors. According to the prosecutor, after a heated argument, they had to go to the police station to ascertain the truth or otherwise of their mission. During police investigations, the pastors told the police that they were not going to harm the mad people but they were rather going to pray for  them to be healed.  They further explained that they had held a similar prayer and healing session at Agormanya Market in Odumase-Krobo where some mad people were healed.    

  Two directors of African Automobile Limited (AAL) are to be arrested on the orders of a court for failing to appear before it over a criminal case filed against them by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). The Accra Circuit Court last Tuesday issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Mohammed Hijizi, Managing Director of Mitsubishi, and Jehad, a Director of the company. They have been charged with conspiracy to commit crime. The court, presided over by Mrs Doris Bempong, a High court judge sitting as an additional circuit court judge, adjourned the case to January 23, 2014. When the case was last called in December, last year, Hijizi prayed the court to allow him to put in a plea bargain after his company had issued various cheques to settle its indebtedness to ECG from 2001 to 2004—totalling GH¢36,248.31 and penalty charges on illegal connection to the tune of GH¢43,685.06. He, however, failed to honour his promise and also failed to show up in court when the case was called. AAL dealers in Mitsubishi vehicles, was recently in the news for defrauding ECG to the tune of GH¢43,685.06 through illegal connection.  This was after the same company had failed to pay an amount of GH¢36,248.31 of electricity it consumed from 2001 to 2004. It was subsequently disconnected by ECG. The two were arrested in 2010 and put in the dock for conspiracy to commit crime.  Civil action was also taken against them at the Commercial Court to retrieve the amount it owed ECG, which has been settled. The criminal aspect has to do with the criminal intent to run down the company by stealing power and the general effect of sabotaging the economy of Ghana.  

  The Ashanti Regional Office of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service recorded 120 cases of defilement in 2013 as against 80 cases in 2012. During the year under review, the unit also recorded 36 rape cases as compared to the 28 cases it recorded in 2012. The Regional Dovvsu Co-ordinator,  Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Benjamin Dokrugu, who made this known in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said 13 of the suspects involved in the defilement cases were prosecuted in the law courts and committed to various terms of imprisonment.  The cases reported, according to him, were from the various police districts in the Ashanti Region such as Kumasi, Atwima Nwabiagya and Suntereso, adding that some of the cases were  struck out due to lack of prosecution. DSP Dokrugu also noted that the number of cases of parental neglect reported to the unit decreased from 1,165 in 2012 to 866 last year. Similarly, the number of reported cases of threats of death and harm dropped by 40 from 156 cases recorded in 2012. There was one case of sodomy reported in 2012 and none in 2013. He explained that the increase in some reported offences could be as a result of public awareness about the legal avenues to seek redress whenever victims suffered domestic violence. DSP Dokrugu disclosed that his outfit intended to mount public education on domestic violence to reach out to about 10,000 people this year, adding that under the project, the public would be educated on what constituted domestic violence, the effects on the individual, family and larger society and the legal remedies available to victims. According to him, as part of the programme, DOVVSU  would equip the public with some security tips that could help them to avoid  or reduce to the barest minimum the incidence of some of the preventable crimes, especially defilement and rape. He explained that as part of the strategy to achieve the target , DOVVSU was collaborating with the Ghana Education Service to reach out to pupils and students in about 180 basic schools and engage some artisans in the project. DSP Dokrugu mentioned that the unit was able to reach out to about 218 residents of Kumasi to educate them on signs to look out for in order to avoid falling victim to criminals.  

  The Chief of Pakyi No.2, Nana Kyei Asiamah Aduakwa II, has celebrated his first Akwasidae at Pakyi No. 2 in the Atwima Kwawoma District of the Ashanti Region, after he had sworn the oath of allegiance to Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi. The people of the traditional area greeted their new chief amidst pomp and pagentry for ascending the stool which had been vacant for the past 20 years. The occasion also attracted a large number of people, including government officials, chiefs and queens from the traditional area, the clergy, the Muslim community and many others. In his address, Nana  Aduakwa II, who was the former Presiding Elder of the Church of Pentecost, Bompata Area in Kumasi and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Feliben Pharmacy in Kumasi, expressed his gratitude to God and commended the chiefs and people for their support in giving the traditional area a new chief after the stool had been vacant for 20 years. He appealed to the chiefs and people of the traditional area bury their differences and to  forge ahead in peace and unity, saying, “with God on our side, we can bring change and development to the area.” Nana Aduakwa II expressed his gratitude to Otumfuo Osei Tutu II for his patience and concern that had helped to unite the people of the traditional area to install a new leader.  

  The Police Administration has introduced a badge of authority for all police personnel across the country. This is to facilitate easy identification of the police and also to prevent private security personnel from mimicking the police. The silver badge has numbers that are peculiar to individual police personnel to enable the Police Administration to easily identify officers who would misconduct themselves while on duty. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP), Reverend Nenyi Ampah-Bennin, who made this known, said the police administration had intensified its image-cleansing exercise to elicit more confidence and respect from major stakeholders, who were members of the public. Nenyi Ampah-Bennin, who is the Director-General of the Police Public Affairs Department, said the administration had devised strategies to also boost the morale of the personnel. He said the recent launch of a bus shuttle service to convey police personnel from their homes to their various stations or duty posts was a measure to boost their morale. He said the shuttle service would be extended to all districts and units of the police service to ensure that personnel got to work on time. Formations Nenyi Ampah-Bennin said the Police Administration had restructured the police service into three major formations —  Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) and the Patrol Department — in conformity with policing systems in the world. He said the three major departments would be institutionalised and would become the hub of policing duties. Preventive policing The Director-General of Police Public Affairs said this year, the service would concentrate more on the preventive aspect of policing, adding that more personnel would be deployed on the roads to ensure compliance with road traffic regulations, to reduce road accidents. He said new strategies had also been developed to reduce crime.  

  The Sunyani police have launched an investigation into the mysterious deaths of a 43-year-old woman, Abenaa Pomaa, and her 10-year-old daughter, Blessing Oppong, at Ohene-Djan, a suburb of Abesim in the Sunyani Municipality. The police found the bodies of the two in a pool of blood in their room last Sunday. Their bodies have been deposited at the Wenchi Methodist Hospital mortuary awaiting autopsy. The Sunyani Municipal Crime Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Kingsley Wiredu, who briefed the Daily Graphic, said deep cuts were found on the throats of the two bodies when they were retrieved. Suspicion He said a co-tenant, Kwabena Yaw, told the police that Pomaa and her daughter had not been seen in the house since  last Thursday. ASP Wiredu said Yaw informed the police that the suspicion of the tenants were aroused as a result of an offensive smell as well as flies that emanated from the room of the deceased on Sunday . He said after a report had been made to the police, they went to the house and broke into the room, only to find the bloated bodies of Pomaa and her daughter wearing only panties, lying in supine positions in a pool of blood. ASP Wiredu said the police suspected foul play and would go all out to unravel the mystery behind the deaths and bring the perpetrators to book. He called on residents in the area who had any knowledge about the matter to hint the police to ensure that those who committed the crime were arrested for prosecution. Pomaa was said to be a native of Dormaa Ahenkro. Her daughter was a pupil of the Excel International School at Ohene Djan.  

  A 19-year-old unemployed man resident at Apatrapa in Kumasi, who stole money belonging to a reverend minister to fete his friends, has been sentenced to 24 months with hard labour. The convict, Cosmos Kwasi Apiedu, was also ordered by the Kumasi Circuit to refund GH¢650 out of the GH¢1,500 which he used to buy drinks for his friends. Apiedu pleaded guilty to one count of stealing and was convicted on his own plea. He stole the GH¢1,500.00 from the letter compartment of the car of Rev. Fr Peter Opoku Ware, the priest in charge of St Peter’s Catholic Church at Apatrapa, who was by then at a parish meeting. The court, presided over by Mr D. W. P. Amedior, sentenced Apiedu  and ordered him to refund the GH¢650.00 to the complainant. Facts Presenting the facts of the case, Inspector Daniel Opoku told the court that on December 30, 2013,  Fr. Opoku–Ware put the money in the letter compartment of his car with the intention of paying same to a welder for a metal gate for the church. However, before he could do that, he was called to a meeting. Inspector Opoku said while there, Fr. Opoku–Ware asked one of his errand boys to pick something from the car and opened it with a remote device but forgot to lock it. Cosmos, therefore, sneaked into the car and stole the money. He said after the meeting, Fr. Opoku–Ware went for the money but realised that it was missing. He said through the priest’s own investigation, he arrested Apiedu, who admitted having stolen the money and spending it on drinks with his friends. The police said GH¢850.00 was retrieved from the convict at the time of his arrest.  

  The Police in Kumasi have arrested three suspected armed robbers for various crimes committed in Ashanti Region. They include 21-year-old Nicholas Gyapong, alias “Spaculus” of the Dompoase Senior High School and two other unemployed aged 26 and 32. The Senior Prefect of the school, Daniel Owusu also known as “Shaka”, alleged to be leader of the Gang, is now at large. Bekwai Divisional Police Commander, ASP Ohwiahene Acheampong, according to Myjoyonline, said the suspects were picked up after carrying out three robbery operations at some mining companies in Kumasi. ASP Acheampong said in December last year the gang robbed the Shong Gong Mining Company at Awiankwanta on the Obuasi road. They stole mobile phones, machine accessories, and an amount of GH¢94,000. He said the police upon a tip-off last week arrested the two unemployed suspects from their hid out around Obuasi and further investigations led them to pick up a final year student of Dompoase SHS, Nicholas Gyapong from the school. Headmaster of Dompoase Senior High School, Mr. Opoku Asamoah admitted the two are students of the school but is surprised at their conduct.Mr. Asamoah said the school authorities are collaborating with the police for the law to take its cause.  

  A 34-year-old woman collapsed and died moments after she allegedly had a scuffle with her husband. According to neighbours, Juliet Tiwaa had persistently accused her husband of cheating on her.They said, on Thursday, January 2, 2014, Juliet confronted and tried to prevent her husband from going out in the night but collapsed and died moments later.    Exchange of words  Neighbours who spoke to the Daily Graphic said the couple, who lived with their two children at Manhean, near Ablekuma in Accra,  had been experiencing marital challenges and her husband on a number of occasions had sent his wife out of their house.  A tenant in the house, told the Daily Graphic that at about 7 pm on Thursday, she heard the couple exchanging words in their room and later, saw Juliet following her husband out of the house, apparently to prevent him from going out. Collapsing at the roadside  Another eyewitness who spoke to the Daily Graphic said he saw Juliet collapsing at the roadside a few minutes after she was seen with her husband who was fixing the buttons on his shirt, while Juliet held onto it. In the course of the struggle between the two, the eyewitness said, Juliet collapsed and onlookers tried to resuscitate her with water. The husband left the scene as the woman lay motionless and she was rushed home where neighbours continued to revive her.  The tenant said after pouring cold water on her and calling her name several times, she regained consciousness.  “When she responded and opened her eyes, she immediately asked for the whereabouts of her husband,” added the tenant. According to the tenant, when Juliet was informed that her husband was at the lorry station, she asked a young woman in the house to go and call him. Fainting for the second time  Minutes later, the young woman returned to inform Juliet that her husband had boarded a vehicle. Juliet fainted again after which all efforts to resuscitate her failed. Later when her husband was called on phone and informed about what had happened to Juliet, he returned to the house where family members of the deceased and some residents in the area tried to beat him up, blaming him for being the cause of the death of Juliet who is believed to have had a heart failure. The Odorkor District Police confirmed the incident and said the body had been sent to the Police Hospital in Accra for autopsy, while the husband had been detained by the police to prevent him from being lynched, while investigations continue.  

  The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, has disclosed that since the inception of the second Ghana Land Administration Project from  August 2011 to date,19,985 titles to land have so far been registered with the appropriate authorities. Out of the number, 11, 225 were men with 4,124 being women while 1,899 were institutions.  This was contained in a keynote address at a stakeholder consultation on land with chiefs and queens in the Upper West Region by the second Land Administration Project (LAP-2) in Wa. The minister said that was encouraging, especially with the fact that more women were increasingly becoming aware of the need to register their title to land adding that one cardinal way of preventing land disputes was for land owners and lease holders to register their property. Alhaji Inusah Fuseini said the Land Administration Project under the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, was collaborating with the Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (G-CAP) towards the reduction and alleviation of poverty in the northern parts of the country as the area had the potential of producing more food for local consumption and export. For his part, the Upper West Regional Minister, Dr Avea Nsoh, urged the traditional authorities in the region to jealously guard against the temptation to sell or release large tracts of land to investors and land speculators with tantalising funds.  He advised them that they should be guided at all times that they hold the land in trust of the people of today and the majority yet unborn.  The Senior Officer of LAP-2, Mr Kofi Abakah Blankson, explained to the participants that the project had been designed to reduce the time and cost in land transactions, reduce and or prevent the numerous land cases pending in the courts, decentralise land administration and ensure an efficient and sustainable land administration for the country.  The Social Development and Gender Specialist for LAP-2, Mrs Sarah Antwi-Boasiako, called on the queens to bring their wisdom to bear on the management of land in their traditional areas and to ensure transparency and prudence in all land transactions. She said LAP-2 considered the active role and involvement of women in land administration as a pre-requisite for any meaningful land reform in the country as women constituted over 70 per cent of the agricultural workforce feeding the country.  

  Vice-President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah­-Arthur has expressed the government’s resolve to build an integrated transport system that would facilitate the evacuation of goods from Ghana to inland countries of West Africa. He explained that the system would include the expansion of the country’s ports, rehabilitation and expansion of the railway network and the development of inland ports. Speaking during a courtesy call on him by The Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Hans Docter, at the Flagstaff House yesterday, Mr Amissah-Arthur said the government was in the process of engaging the various stakeholders, both home and abroad, to raise the needed funds for the project. Appeal The Vice-President appealed to The Netherlands Government to share its experiences on the expansion of its ports, especially the famous Rotterdam Port  with Ghana. Shell and Vitol, two oil companies, have their origins in the Netherlands for which reason Mr Amissah-Arthur indicated that being in the oil business for more than a century was an opportunity for the Netherlands to support Ghana in that sector. Ghana-Netherlands co-operation Mr Docter said the Dutch Government was willing to support Ghana to develop a robust transport system, explaining that some Ghanaians were invited to the Netherlands for the purpose of studying port management and finding possible areas of collaboration between the two countries. He added that it was the desire of the Dutch Government to establish a training school for port management in Ghana to train professionals to help remedy the bottlenecks at the country’s ports. Mr Docter also said he was willing to share the Netherlands expertise in fishing and aquaculture with Ghana. Writer’s email: [email protected]  

  A suspected robber on the police wanted list for the past five years has been arrested with two other accomplices. The suspect was arrested after exchanging gun shots with security officers dispatched to apprehend him. Samiru Salifu, a 27-year-old unemployed, had been on the police wanted list for allegedly engaging in robbery at residential areas, filling stations, as well as other violent crimes. The two accomplices are a 59-year-old Moses Makini Binipom and his brother, Ibrahim Isaka,32, who are also unemployed. Items retrieved from the suspects included two pump action guns, a pistol, a long dagger, 60 rounds of pistol pellets, six rounds of  AA cartridges and three mobile phones. Exchange of guns    Suspect Samiru Salifu, who sustained gunshot wounds during the shootout with the police, is also a land guard at the centre of a number of disputed land cases. Odorkor District Crime Officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Emmanuel Osei Agbogah,  said the suspect was arrested on Thursday, January 2, 2014 from his hideout at Ablekuma Fanmilk in Accra on a tip-off.  He said on that fateful Thursday, at about 3 a.m, the police had information that Samiru had taken two ladies hostage at Olebu in Accra. “When the police patrol team got there, he started firing indiscriminately and the police returned the fire. In the process, he sustained gunshot wounds but managed to escape,” said Mr Agbogah. At 6 a.m. the same day, the Odorkor Crime Officer said the police had information that the suspect was hiding at Ablekuma Fanmilk “so a team was dispatched to effect his arrest.” Weapons buried  During interrogation, Samiru was said to have confessed that he was the one behind some violent crimes and robberies, and mentioned the names of his accomplices, some of whom the police are holding on to as efforts are being made to apprehend them.  “He also said he had weapons including pump action guns, a pistol, which he had given to Ibrahim to bury,” said Mr Agbogah. An intensive search was mounted for Ibrahim Isaka who was later arrested “and he led the police to a bush to retrieve the weapons which had been buried.” Ibrahim Isaka told the police that he had exchanged one of the pump action guns for a piece of land from Moses Binipon who was arrested but said he had sent the weapon to Dambai in the Volta Region. Victims DSP Agbogah said the weapon had been retrieved and that six victims had since been helping the police with investigations. Among the victims was a man who has had one of his legs amputated as a result of gunshot wounds he sustained from Samiru, one with an infected wound from the long dagger and another whose right hand had been slashed off. They all told the police Samiru carried out his operations at gun-point and sometimes amidst gunshots. The Odorkor crime officer said Samiru and the two suspects would be put before court, while the police pursued the other suspects who had been mentioned.  

  Squatters in the various markets throughout the country face ejection as part of measures to curb the perennial fire outbreaks in the markets. The move, to be championed by the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), with the support of local government authorities, is also to put an end to the domestic activities of the squatters, particularly cooking, which put the market at high risk of fire outbreaks. According to the Public Relations Officer of the GNFS, Mr Billy Anaglate, most of the fire incidents that occurred at the markets last year were due to fires that were left unquenched after cooking.   Last year  Last year, there was widespread fire outbreaks at markets in Accra and Kumasi. Notable among them were the Kantamanto, Kumasi Central, Dome, Makola Number Two, Makola Shopping Mall and Abuja markets.   Investigations by the GNFS concluded that most of the fires were caused by  illegal electrical connections, cooking and, congestion in the markets and overaged wiring.  Other measures Mr Anaglate said local authorities were being encouraged to provide containers to facilitate the establishment of temporary fire posts at the various markets to monitor activities in the markets daily.   He said the GNFS would also engage the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to make sure that overaged wires and  illegal connections at the markets were removed. Structures in the alleys of the markets would be cleared, he said, and added that the congested alleys made it difficult for fire men to go into the markets during fire outbreaks. Furthermore, Mr Anaglate said, the GNFS would see to it that the markets had early fire detectors and fire-fighting facilities with provision of water hydrants by the Ghana Water Company. He said the GNFS would also conduct fire safety audits on all government premises and industries.  

  Six people, including three junior high school (JHS) students, have been busted for stealing 24 laptops belonging to the Nkwantanang 7 and 8 Junior High School (JHS) at Madina, Accra, The laptops were supplied to the school under the government’s one laptop per child project . Five of the laptops have been retrieved. Teenagers  The JHS students in the custody of the Accra Regional Command are Latif Sawyerr, Abraham Aboagye and Douglas Kofi Ansah, all aged 17.  The other three are Ibrahim Mutala, alias Baba, 20; Atta Sarpong Senior and Atta Sarpong Junior, twins aged 19.  Another suspect, whose name was only given as Rakibu, is at large.  The laptops, which were in the computer laboratory of the school, were reported missing on November 18, 2013. Police investigation led to the arrest of three JHS students of a sister school, Madina ‘I’ JHS, in the same vicinity, who, upon interrogation, mentioned three other accomplices. Kumasi police  The Accra Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Christian Tetteh Yohuno, said the twins, Atta Sarpong Senior and Atta Sarpong Junior, fled to their home town when they heard the three JHS students had been arrested by the police. The police in Kumasi, Mr Yohuno said, were alerted, who then traced the twins to their home town, Asowase, near Ejisu in the Ashanti Region, where they were arrested. The twins allegedly confessed to the crime of burglary and assisted the police to arrest Mutala, who claimed to be an old student of Madina ‘1’ JHS. During interrogation, Mutala told the police that the idea to steal the laptops was hatched by the three JHS students, Sawyerr, Aboagye and Ansah, who got a spare key to the computer laboratory from one of the pupils of the Nkwantanang ‘7’ and ‘8’ JHS. Taxi hijackers  In another development, two other suspects were paraded for attempting to hijack a taxi at Achimota. The two, Danjumah Abubakar, 25, and Mark Dzotopey, 24, hired the services of a taxi driver, Charles Osei , from Achimota to Amasaman but on reaching a filling station at Achimota the driver opted not to continue the journey, suspecting his passengers could be robbers. A scuffle ensued when the two suspects attempted to seize the taxi but a police patrol team came to the aid of the driver.  

    Three young men, including a 16-year-old junior high school pupil, who allegedly attempted to kill a JHS Three student for ritual purposes, have  been apprehended by the police. They attempted to kill their victim for ritual purposes to make them rich through what is popularly known as ‘Sakawa’. The three are Ebenezer Agyemang, 19, student of Ghana National Academy, Salu Mohammed Amiu, 23, a student of Elite College and the 16-year-old boy (name withheld), pupil of Adventist Preparatory School. Agyemang and the juvenile were said to have lured the victim, Agyei Dufie, a final-year student of Atonsu Presby Junior High School to the house of Amiu where her blood was expected to be drawn for ritual purposes to make them rich through ‘sakawa’. The three were last Tuesday arraigned before a Kumasi circuit court presided over by His Lordship, Emmanuel Amo-Yartey, a high court judge sitting with the additional responsibility of a circuit court judge, on charges of conspiracy to commit crime and attempted murder. Their pleas were not taken and Agyemang and Amiu were remanded into prison custody to reappear on January 21, while the juvenile was granted bail in the sum of GH¢10, 000 with a surety.  Presenting the facts, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Archibald K. Fandoh, told the court that on October 16, 2013, the juvenile and Agyemang were discussing how to become rich by ritual means with one Pupee. He said Pupee then introduced them to Amiu as a spiritualist who could help make them rich. According to the prosecutor, Amiu gave his phone number to the other two accused persons who later contacted him and he assured them of making them rich if they could produce human blood and a sum of GH¢60. Mr Fandoh said the two later provided the money, while awaiting the human blood, and on January 2, 2014, the two lured the victim to the house of Amiu for her blood to be drained for the rituals. Luck, however, eluded them as upon a tip off, they were arrested by some men within the community and handed over to the police for investigations. They were said to have admitted the offence in their caution statements to the police.    

  The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Mr Sylvester Mensah, has donated food items valued at GH¢10,000 to three institutions in the La Dadekotopon Municipal Assembly (LaDMA) in Accra. The beneficiary institutions are the Osu Children’s Home, the Shelta for Abused Children and the New Horizon School. The items, comprising rice, oil, sugar, milk and canned fish, were bought with the proceeds from the sale of a book titled: In the Shadows of Politics, Reflections from My Mirror  authored by Mr Mensah, which was launched to mark his 50th birthday celebration.    According to Mr Mensah, his compassion for the underprivileged in the society is what drives him to help improve their situation anytime he has the means to do that. He expressed the hope that the items would significantly help the institutions to feed the children under their care with healthy meals. For her part,  the proprietor of the New Horizon School, Ms Joycelyn Adoboe, thanked the CEO for the kind gesture and appealed to other institutions to follow suit. She stated that many people perceived the New Horizon School as a school for the rich hence they did not need any help, but that was wrong as most of the children were sponsored by philanthropists while some stay at home due to lack of funds to pay their school fees. The MCE of LaDMA, Ms Rita Odoley Sowah, commended Mr Mensah for the foresight in deciding to use the proceeds of his book to help the needy in the society. She said there were a number of children out there who needed support, and called on others to try and touch the lives of underprivileged people.