An Accra Circuit Court has remanded Ahmed Mohammed Lawal, a painter working on the Bank of Ghana building at Ridge, into police custody for allegedly stealing assorted copper cables valued at GH¢ 1,035,500.
Lawal, who appeared before the court presided over by Mrs. Sedinam Awo Kwadam, pleaded not guilty to charges of unlawful entry and stealing.
According to police reports, Lawal was apprehended after a review of CCTV footage implicated him in the theft. Two other accomplices are reportedly on the run, with police pursuing leads to arrest them.
In a subsequent appearance before relieving judge Isaac Addo, Lawal’s lawyer, Nii Martey Korley, prayed for bail, arguing that his client was not a flight risk.
The defense noted that Lawal has a fixed place of abode, is gainfully employed, and has cooperated fully with police investigations.
Additionally, Korley stated that Lawal had never interfered with the investigation and had independent sureties of substance who would ensure his attendance in court if granted bail.
The lawyer further emphasized that Lawal had already spent over a month in custody and required time to prepare his defense.
The prosecution, led by ASP Augustin K. Oppong, did not oppose the bail application, leaving the decision entirely at the court’s discretion.
ASP Oppong also informed the court that Lawal had refunded GHC 2,000 to the police.
However, the court refused the bail request, ordering that Lawal remain in custody until April 2, 2025, when the case will be revisited. Investigations are ongoing.
Background of case
The prosecution, led by Assistant Augustin Kingsley Oppong, told the court that the complainants, Samuel Nii Tettey and Davidson Mensah Otinkorang, are safety officer and electrical engineer, respectively, at the New Bank of Ghana building, which is under construction.
ASP Oppong said on February 16, 2025, the complainants detected that a thief had broken into the Energy Farm at the Site and had stolen quantities of lc x 240 square copper cables and lc x 300 square of copper cables, all valued at GHC1,035,500.
That necessitated the review of the Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) camera, where the accused and two others were seen stealing the copper cables from the Energy Farm. Bundles of electrical cables were kept at the place.
Prosecution said the complainants nabbed the accused and handed him over to the police for investigations.
The court heard that during investigations, it was revealed that on February 16,2025, the accused and two others at large gained ingress into the Energy Farm “by means of a scaffold where accused person and his accomplices cut the copper cables with a sharp object and took them (the cables) away.”
Investigations conducted proved the sale of the booty to someone at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle by the accused and his share was GHC2,000.
However, the accused could not lead the police to arrest his accomplice and the “dishonest receiver.”
Investigations were still ongoing, prosecution added.
