Fulani Armed Robbers Attack Passengers At Gunpoint

Armed men believed to be of Fulani descent last week mounted roadblocks on the Obuasi-Accra road and robbed passengers of their money and mobile phones.

Although many commuters fell victim to the robbery incident, only the occupants of one of the vehicles reported the matter to the police.

Numbering about eight and wielding locally manufactured pistols, jack knives and single-barrelled guns, the robbers ordered some of the passengers to lie down on the road to create the impression that they were accident victims.

And as oncoming vehicles slowed down to avoid running over those lying on the road, the robbers swooped on them and attacked them.

The incident occurred at Kyiraburoso in the Adansi North District at about 12: 30 a.m. last week Tuesday.

Confirming the incident to the Daily Graphic, the Fomena District Police Commander, Superintendent Richard Anaaba, said around 12:30 a.m. on that day, the police had information that armed robbers had blocked the road at Akwamsrem and were robbing passengers of their valuables.

He said before a patrol team got to the scene, the robbers had fled into the bush.

According to Supt Anaaba, around 5 a.m. the same day, the police got information that the robbers had returned to the road and were now using human beings as a decoy.

He said when the police returned to the scene, they realised that a Benz bus travelling towards Cape Coast had veered off and entered a big gutter, all in an attempt to avoid running over the victims who the robbers had forced to lie on the road.

Supt Anaaba said the robbers managed to escape again.

Although many vehicles were involved in the incident, he said only passengers on the Benz bus lodged a formal complaint about the robbery with the police.

Frank Boateng, one of the victims, who narrated his ordeal to the Daily Graphic, said around 4:50 a.m. he was on his way to Accra from Obuasi with a friend and on reaching Hwiremoase, “we observed that a Benz Splinter bus had been involved in an accident, with the bus lying on its side a little off the road… we also saw some vehicles parked haphazardly on the road”.

According to him, when they parked their car, “two guys wielding pistols and jack knives charged upon us and demanded our mobile phones and cash.

“They then instructed us to get down and lie on the road. They were of Fulani extraction.”

Boateng said they were held captive by the robbers for close to 20 minutes till a Metro Mass bus appeared on the scene. The robbers then abandoned them to ‘deal with’ the passengers on the Metro Mass bus.

Source: GNA