A high court in Accra, Ghana, has sentenced two Nigerias and one Ghanaian to 73 years in prison for the offences of rape, armed robbery and possession of firearms.
The verdict was handed down to the criminal gang by the court upon the prosecution’s success in proving its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Media reports revealed that the rapists, 29-year-old Daniel Akpan, 33-year-old Edem Asuquo, and 34-year-old Ishmael Akyene, committed the crimes against some United Kingdom schoolchildren and their teachers who were in Ghana as charity volunteers in December 2018.
Daily Mail Onlinereported that the convicts attacked the guesthouse where the victims were lodged upon their arrival in Ghana, raped and dispossessed them of their personal valuables at gunpoint.
The local police said in a statement that the trio confessed to the crimes in court and admitted responsibility for the 32-count charge levelled against them, thereby speeding up the trial.
“Three men have been convicted and sentenced following an investigation by police in Ghana, which has been supported by a UK police force,” the statement said.
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“All three men have been sentenced to 73 years imprisonment each. 23 years for firearms offences, 25 years for robbery offences and 23 years for rape. All of the men will serve their sentences concurrently.
“All three men pleaded guilty at a court hearing in Accra in Ghana.
“The convictions are in connection with an incident, which occurred in December, 2018, in which a group of pupils and teachers from a UK school travelled to Ghana. The school or area where they were from cannot be named for legal reasons.
“Shortly after their arrival, a number of armed men entered the accommodation where the group was staying. The group were held at gunpoint, and the female victims were subjected to serious sexual assaults.”
Police authorities have concealed the identities of victims for safety reasons.
A report by Ghana Webexplained that the victims were not immediately arrested, and that two of them were tracked down upon complaint and investigation.
The arrested two aided police efforts to pick the third one. But on sighting the police, he escaped through his house’s roof to Nigeria.
In collaboration with Nigerian authorities, he was identified using his passport and was subsequently extradited to Ghana to face prosecution with his co-accused.
Upon conviction, the stolen items and money recovered from the criminals were ordered to be released to their victims.
The convicts will serve their jail terms concurrently.
Five children trapped inside abandoned car in Minna die
Five children have reportedly died of suffocation in an abandoned vehicle in the Albishiri area of Minna, Niger State.
The children were said to have gone missing on Sunday morning before they were found dead at 6pm on the same day.
One of the children was said to be a child of the owner of the car while another one was the child of a neighbour.
The remaining three were siblings, belonging to one Abdullahi Etsu of Etsu-tasha, from the Albishiri area.
Spokesman for the police command in Niger, Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed the incident in a statement on Monday.
He said the children were between the ages of five and 13.
Abiodun said the children were found trapped in a Honda Civic vehicle in the area.
He stated, “On 21/4/2024 at about 6.30pm, based on information received at Kpakungu Div, five children of about 5-13 years of age were found trapped in a Honda Civic vehicle with Reg No. GO 778 ABC at Albishiri area of Minna,” the statement reads.
“They were found to have suffocated in the vehicle, while their bodies were later removed by the various Parents, as Police visited the scene.
“However, the owner of the vehicle was invited for questioning, as the unfortunate incident is under investigation.”
FG summons Abuja Chinese supermarket owner to tribunal over discrimination
Director of Surveillance and Investigation at the FCCPC, Boladale Adeyinka, disclosed this on Monday after sealing off the outlet.
She affirmed that the owner of the supermarket, Cindy Liu Bei, had fled before the arrival of the agency’s officials.
The FCCPC officials stormed the supermarket on Monday, April 22, 2024, barely 24 hours after the discriminatory practices of the outlet were reported on social media by Nigerians.
Four vandalised towers disrupt power supply to Gombe, Yola, Jalingo
The TCN General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, disclosed this on Monday in a statement shared on the company’s official X handle, along with pictures of the vandalised towers.
According to the statement, the TCN noted that when the 330kV transmission line tripped, its operators attempted to restore it to service but it tripped again, prompting the dispatch of TCN lines men to trace the line to detect and rectify the fault.
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It said, “While fault tracing, TCN’s engineering crew discovered that towers 288, 289, 290, and 291 were vandalised and that some tower members were carted away. Also, the towers had equally collapsed as a result of the incident. Presently, bulk power supply to Gombe, Yola, and Jalingo substations have been disrupted, affecting bulk power supply to parts of Yola and Jos Electricity Distribution Companies’ franchise areas.’’
The TCN however stated that it was trying to first backfeed Gombe through its 132kV transmission line from Bauchi and subsequently Ashaka, Potiskum, Damaturu, and Billiri/Savannah, to mitigate the effect of the incident on electricity consumers affected by the incident.
The company assured that it would do everything to ensure restoration of electricity to the affected areas, while efforts were made to reconstruct the four vandalised towers.
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