Police hunt fugitives in Sandema jailbreak

Police in Sandema in the Upper East Region has begun a search for six persons who broke jail and escaped while in custody.

The suspects were being held at the Sandema police station when the incident occurred on Saturday, April 10.

It is unclear how the suspects managed to escape lawful custody while under police guard.

Hours after the incident, one of the escapees was, however, re-arrested.

According to the police, the inmates had been planning to escape for some time now, a move they finally succeeded in executing.

“We were able to capture one of them, few hours after the incident. So we are doing everything possible so that we recapture all of them in the shortest possible time,” Public Relations Officer of the Upper East Police Command, ASP David Fianko Okyere, said.

He, however, added that internal procedures had been initiated to ascertain the circumstances under which the suspects fled while under police watch.

“Internal procedures have been initiated to investigate the complicity of police officers who were guarding the prisoners. The police officers will have to explain to the administration what exactly happened, and the necessary action will be taken”, he added.

Meanwhile, the general public has been admonished to volunteer information to arrest the other inmates on the run.

Similar incidents

This latest jailbreak comes barely a week after a similar one was recorded at Zenu-Atadeka police station in the Greater Accra Region.

The suspects on remand escaped during Easter when a police officer opened the cell to put another suspect in custody.

One of the inmates allegedly poured hot porridge into the police officer’s face, paving the way for 12 suspects to escape.

An inmate who escaped from jail, Sumaila Karim, surrendered to the police while six other escapees were re-arrested.

Three out of the 12 escapees who were re-captured in Juapong were arraigned on the charges listed below;

1. Escape from lawful custody,
2. Assault on a public officer and
3. Escape from lawful custody.

The accused persons pleaded guilty to all three counts.

They were found guilty and accordingly sentenced to two (2) years imprisonment.

They were also asked to compensate the complainants with an amount of Three Hundred Cedis (GHS300.00) each or, in default, be sentenced to six (6) months in hard labour.

Kwabenya jailbreak

On Sunday, January 21, 2018, a popular jailbreak at the Kwabenya District Police station shook the nation.

In a Rambo-style fashion, a gang of six armed men stormed the police station at dawn and facilitated the escape of seven inmates.

The cell break led to the death of a police officer, Inspector Emmanuel Ashilevi.

The police were able to arrest four of the escapees and nine people alleged to have aided them in their escape.

The prosecution told the court that before the operation, two gang members had surveyed the police station by intentionally visiting the place to lodge a complaint.

They complained that someone had borrowed their money and refused to pay, for which a policeman told them to institute civil action at the court.

“At that moment, the two signalled the rest who had laid ambush to launch an attack on the charge office. They shot Inspector Ashilevi, who was on duty.

“They took the keys to the cells and released seven of the inmates, namely, Prince Osei, Atta Kwadwo, Chibuzor Akwubu, Emmanuel Kotey, Kofi Darko, Rockson Edem Dzigbede, and Dickson Ofori,” the prosecution said.

Some of the accomplices who were later arrested and put before the court were handed a 17-month jail term for abetment.

They included Nancy Dantaa, a barkeeper; and Kofi Seshie, a taxi driver.

Dantaa was found to have been a close friend of one of the inmates and helped him by charging his phone for him.

It was the said phone that the inmate used to plan the daring escape.

The court, presided over by Mr Aboagye Tandoh, also sentenced Prince Osei, one of the escapees, to 40 months imprisonment for unlawful possession of ammunition.

The court also jailed Prince Kofi Acheampong for 40 months for giving the ammunition to Osei.