The Accra Circuit Court, presided over by His Honour Samuel Bright Acquah, has granted bail in the sum of GH¢100,000 with two sureties — one of whom must be a public servant — to Corporal Bernard Bortey of the Ghana Armed Forces and six alleged civilian accomplices.
They are standing trial in connection with an armed robbery and kidnapping involving a fuel tanker in the Eastern Region.
The accused were first arraigned on August 11, 2025, where they all pleaded not guilty to four charges: conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery, kidnapping, and abetment of robbery.
The Case
According to the prosecution, led by ASP Issah Achibari who held brief for ASP Emmanuel Heligah, the incident occurred on August 6, 2025, at Pampaso Number 1 in the Eastern Region.
Corporal Bortey, who is stationed at the Ghana Armed Forces Teaching and Doctrine College, is alleged to have conspired with several accomplices, some of whom are still at large, to trail a fuel tanker transporting diesel from Tema.
The tanker, belonging to Petroland Ltd., was allegedly intercepted at gunpoint. The driver, Jerry Kawuo, and his mate, Desmond Owusu Junior, were abducted and forced into a green pickup truck with registration number GX 2881-22.
The stolen vehicle, a DAF diesel truck with registration number GT-2493-20, was loaded with 54,000 litres of diesel valued at GH¢769,500.00.
Prosecutors told the court the tanker was later driven to the Pacific Fuel Station at Bunso Junction, where the suspects attempted to siphon the fuel into another truck (registration number GN 804-13) using a pumping machine.
Police investigations revealed that Corporal Bortey personally supervised the hijacking. At about 12:30 a.m. on August 7, 2025, he was intercepted at a checkpoint at Ablekuma Borkorborkor, dressed in full military uniform.
The two kidnapped victims were still handcuffed in the back of the pickup truck and managed to signal the officers, leading to his immediate arrest.
Further operations resulted in the arrest of the other six accused persons at Bunso Junction.
They are: Mark Abito (34), a fuel tanker driver; Ganiu Abdulai (31), driver; Atiiga Banabas (26), unemployed; Awine Ibrahim (25), tanker driver’s mate; Muniru Ayebo (19), tanker driver’s mate; and Shaibu Adams (27), tanker driver’s mate.
The court also approved a prosecution request to release the impounded fuel tanker and its contents back to Petroland Ltd., the lawful owner, citing security and safety risks.
The company’s representative, Mr. Appiah Kubi, appeared in court during the proceedings. Prosecutors explained that keeping the vehicle and fuel at the police station posed risks of theft or tampering.
Ongoing Investigations
Prosecutors described the robbery as a well-coordinated operation, with the suspects divided into two teams: one to monitor the tanker’s movement from Tema and another, allegedly led by Corporal Bortey, to carry out the armed hijacking.
