Story: Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, Sekondi
A SPECTACLE unfolded at the Sekondi High Court yesterday when three armed robbers who had shot and killed two policemen in 2009 during a robbery expedition saluted the judge and thanked him for condemning them to a total of 120 years in prison.
After the Supervising High Court judge, Mr Justice Robbin Batu, had handed down a 40-year jail term to each of the convicts, Okoley Ebenezer Tetteh, 22, Raphael Ayo Buoro, 28, and Raphael Larweh, 22, saluted him and said in unison, “Thank you, sir.”
But as they stepped out of the court to begin their sentences, they descended on the police to demand from them their mobile phones. It took a prison officer to fire a warning shot to calm their nerves.
The three robbers were arrested in October last year after a fierce gun battle with the police who foiled the robbery attempt.
According to the prosecutor, Ms Patience Klinogo, a Principal State Attorney, Tetteh, who hails from Jurabanso in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region, heard that purchasing clerks were about to cash huge sums of money to pay cocoa farmers.
He, therefore, went to Accra to recruit three others and, armed with fire power, they went to Jurabanso with the intent to rob the purchasing clerks of the money before the farmers could be paid.
But Tetteh, who had a very bad record in the area, was spotted by town folks with the others and they reported the movements of Tetteh and his accomplices to the police who went to the town to foil the robbery attempt.
However, Tetteh and his group resisted arrest and engaged the police in a gun battle, resulting in the death of two policemen.
In the process, the police shot and wounded one of the robbers but he still managed to escape. The three were later overpowered and arrested.
In another development, the Takoradi Circuit Court sentenced Collins Addai, 27, to 10 years’ imprisonment after he had been convicted for stealing an unregistered Corolla saloon car in Takoradi.
According to the prosecution, Addai approached a car dealer and offered to buy the car which was on display.
He demanded to test-drive the car before purchasing it and left a bag containing fake money with the car dealer.
After test-driving with one of the workers of the garage, Addai returned and pretended to pay for the vehicle.
Immediately the worker of the garage stepped out of the vehicle, Addai sped off and refused to stop at any of the police barriers he came across.
He was given a hot chase by the police.
Unfortunately for Addai, there was traffic at the toll gate, for which reason he stepped out of the vehicle and took to his heels.
He was later arrested and when the bag was opened, it contained bundles of paper cut in the size and shape of bank notes. Two GH¢20 notes had been placed on both ends of each bundle.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Explosion of anger and jealousy...2 BLODDY AFFAIRS...At Anokye and Echi (LEAD STORY, APRIL 17, 2010)
AN explosion of fury and anger coupled with jealousy resulted in two bloody incidents in the Western Region, when two men who suspected their wives of infidelity decided to take the law into their hands in fatal revenge.
At Anokrom, a town near Enchi, a man butchered his wife out of jealousy and courageously reported himself to the police, while at Damanikrom, near Debiso, a man, who could not stand the sight of his wife in a sexual act with another man, shot the man seven times killing him instantly.
The wife managed to escape, but the man, who is now at large, pursued her and shot her in the arm and abdomen. She is said to be in critical condition at the Holy Family Hospital at Berekum.
The first suspect, Kwashie Ashiegbe, 48, killed his wife, Christine Nakpe, 36, at Anokrom.
The second suspect was named as Abubakari Amadu, 26, who killed his rival, Kojo Ankramah, 25, at Damanikrom. Amadu, however, bolted with the gun after the incident, while Ashiegbe has been placed in custody pending further investigations.
According to the police, the two men had accused their spouses of cheating on them.
At Debiso, the police said Amadu, who lived in the same town with his victim and wife, suspected the woman of infidelity and was said to have vowed to kill anybody who went near her.
They said at about 1:30 a.m. last Saturday, the suspect traced the wife to Kojo Ankramah’s room and allegedly caught them in the act.
Amadu, who had armed himself with a single-barrelled shotgun, opened fire at the deceased and shot him seven times.
Her wife was later rescued by members of the community, who rushed her to the hospital.
The focus to save the life of the woman took the attention of the rescuers and Amadu managed to escape with the gun.
At Anokrom, Ashiegbe also suspected the wife of sleeping with other men and warned her to desist from it.
The wife, who was said to have no such intention, went about her normal duties and continued to relate to all. This did not go down well with Ashiegbe, who, out of anger, did the unthinkable.
The bodies of the two have been deposited at the Enchi and Berekum government hospitals pending autopsy.
At Anokrom, a town near Enchi, a man butchered his wife out of jealousy and courageously reported himself to the police, while at Damanikrom, near Debiso, a man, who could not stand the sight of his wife in a sexual act with another man, shot the man seven times killing him instantly.
The wife managed to escape, but the man, who is now at large, pursued her and shot her in the arm and abdomen. She is said to be in critical condition at the Holy Family Hospital at Berekum.
The first suspect, Kwashie Ashiegbe, 48, killed his wife, Christine Nakpe, 36, at Anokrom.
The second suspect was named as Abubakari Amadu, 26, who killed his rival, Kojo Ankramah, 25, at Damanikrom. Amadu, however, bolted with the gun after the incident, while Ashiegbe has been placed in custody pending further investigations.
According to the police, the two men had accused their spouses of cheating on them.
At Debiso, the police said Amadu, who lived in the same town with his victim and wife, suspected the woman of infidelity and was said to have vowed to kill anybody who went near her.
They said at about 1:30 a.m. last Saturday, the suspect traced the wife to Kojo Ankramah’s room and allegedly caught them in the act.
Amadu, who had armed himself with a single-barrelled shotgun, opened fire at the deceased and shot him seven times.
Her wife was later rescued by members of the community, who rushed her to the hospital.
The focus to save the life of the woman took the attention of the rescuers and Amadu managed to escape with the gun.
At Anokrom, Ashiegbe also suspected the wife of sleeping with other men and warned her to desist from it.
The wife, who was said to have no such intention, went about her normal duties and continued to relate to all. This did not go down well with Ashiegbe, who, out of anger, did the unthinkable.
The bodies of the two have been deposited at the Enchi and Berekum government hospitals pending autopsy.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
INVEST IN CRITICAL AREAS (PAGE 30, APRIL 7, 2010)
A project to locate and collect obsolete pesticides, veterinary products which pose a potential risk to the environment as well as human and animal health has been launched in Accra.
The project dubbed: "Cleanfarms Ghana Project" is a collaboration between CropLife Ghana, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (EPA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The objective of the project is to reduce the risk associated with obsolete stocks of pesticides that will over time deteriorate and cause harm to the environment.
Obsolete products include pesticides products that have expired, pesticides that have been banned or severely restricted because of high toxicity.
In a speech read on his behalf at the launch, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, said Agriculture inputs were key components of modern agriculture, contributing to increase in crop yields achieved in recent decades.
He, however, said the total disregard for effective and efficient disposal could create adverse effects on the environment and also the economy.
He said the issue about the proper disposal of obsolete pesticides as well as their containers was a major task which the Government of Ghana (GoG) alone could not manage without the help of the private industry.
"It is, therefore, heart-warming for CropLife International through its national association, CropLife Ghana, to initiate such an exercise and GoG through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture would provide all the necessary assistance for the initiative”, he pointed out.
He said the agri-input business, largely due to the liberalisation policy of the government has increased the accessibility of inputs to the rural farmers, but had brought in its wake serious problems for the industry and therefore the need for all stakeholders to join hands to find a solution to the problem.
“ In this regard I will add my voice to that of the CropLife Ghana to call on all importers of agricultural inputs, especially, the pesticides, liquid fertilisers and veterinary pesticide products to set up mechanisms to retract all the used-empty containers from the field”.
Mr Ahwoi advised the general public to comply with the project directions and provide all the necessary information leading to the eventual cleaning and the disposal of such hazardous materials in the country.
Mr Ahwoi said it was a serious issue that needed to be tackled by appropriate authorities since it contributed massively to the stocking of obsolete products and was of the belief that the enforcement of the Pesticide Act would prevent future stocking of obsolete materials.
The Director, Chemicals Control and Management Centre of the Environmental Protection Agency, Mr John Pwamang, said unusable pesticide posed greater risks to people, animals and the environment than products in good conditions.
Mr Pwamang said the project involved the safeguarding of obsolete stockpiles that were identified as needing urgent action.
Throwing more light on the project, the Local Project Co-ordinator, Mrs Juliet Biney, said information obtained from the national inventory of stocks and their locations would be stored in the Obsolete Pesticide Management System (OPMS) for the necessary environmental risk assessment.
She said one would be required to register any obsolete, unwanted pesticides and veterinary products with any of the campaign offices across the country before June 22, 2010
Mrs Biney explained that the collection and safeguarding phase would commence in August 2010 to March 2011 and advised the public to register any obsolete pesticide to make the campaign a success.
In the year 2000, the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) proposed an initiative to address the accumulation of obsolete pesticide stockpiles across the African continent, at the same time negotiations for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants were coming to a close.
African countries then requested for assistance to manage obsolete POPs pesticides, recognising that they pose serious threats to the health of both rural and urban population.
The project dubbed: "Cleanfarms Ghana Project" is a collaboration between CropLife Ghana, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (EPA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The objective of the project is to reduce the risk associated with obsolete stocks of pesticides that will over time deteriorate and cause harm to the environment.
Obsolete products include pesticides products that have expired, pesticides that have been banned or severely restricted because of high toxicity.
In a speech read on his behalf at the launch, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, said Agriculture inputs were key components of modern agriculture, contributing to increase in crop yields achieved in recent decades.
He, however, said the total disregard for effective and efficient disposal could create adverse effects on the environment and also the economy.
He said the issue about the proper disposal of obsolete pesticides as well as their containers was a major task which the Government of Ghana (GoG) alone could not manage without the help of the private industry.
"It is, therefore, heart-warming for CropLife International through its national association, CropLife Ghana, to initiate such an exercise and GoG through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture would provide all the necessary assistance for the initiative”, he pointed out.
He said the agri-input business, largely due to the liberalisation policy of the government has increased the accessibility of inputs to the rural farmers, but had brought in its wake serious problems for the industry and therefore the need for all stakeholders to join hands to find a solution to the problem.
“ In this regard I will add my voice to that of the CropLife Ghana to call on all importers of agricultural inputs, especially, the pesticides, liquid fertilisers and veterinary pesticide products to set up mechanisms to retract all the used-empty containers from the field”.
Mr Ahwoi advised the general public to comply with the project directions and provide all the necessary information leading to the eventual cleaning and the disposal of such hazardous materials in the country.
Mr Ahwoi said it was a serious issue that needed to be tackled by appropriate authorities since it contributed massively to the stocking of obsolete products and was of the belief that the enforcement of the Pesticide Act would prevent future stocking of obsolete materials.
The Director, Chemicals Control and Management Centre of the Environmental Protection Agency, Mr John Pwamang, said unusable pesticide posed greater risks to people, animals and the environment than products in good conditions.
Mr Pwamang said the project involved the safeguarding of obsolete stockpiles that were identified as needing urgent action.
Throwing more light on the project, the Local Project Co-ordinator, Mrs Juliet Biney, said information obtained from the national inventory of stocks and their locations would be stored in the Obsolete Pesticide Management System (OPMS) for the necessary environmental risk assessment.
She said one would be required to register any obsolete, unwanted pesticides and veterinary products with any of the campaign offices across the country before June 22, 2010
Mrs Biney explained that the collection and safeguarding phase would commence in August 2010 to March 2011 and advised the public to register any obsolete pesticide to make the campaign a success.
In the year 2000, the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) proposed an initiative to address the accumulation of obsolete pesticide stockpiles across the African continent, at the same time negotiations for the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants were coming to a close.
African countries then requested for assistance to manage obsolete POPs pesticides, recognising that they pose serious threats to the health of both rural and urban population.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
GHANAIANS ARE HIGHLY TRAINABLE — TECHNIP (PAGE 33. APRIL 6, 2010)
Technip, a deepwater installation specialist company, currently working for Jubilee Partners in the country’s oilfields has trained 15 Ghanaian engineers in Paris and Houston.
The six-month training focused on areas such as installation on site, design, software applications, installation engineering, fabrication, procurement, mobilisations and ensuring quality health and safety.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Country Manager of the company, Mr Stephan Sole, said the move was a demonstration of the company’s long-term commitment to offshore operations in the country.
He said, “Technip is not only here to stay but also making sure that Ghanaians are well trained to take over the offshore operations in the country’s oilfields in future”.
Mr Sole expressed satisfaction at the issue of local content, which he said was one of the areas the company had its focus on.
One of the trainees, Mr Godfred Otengo Brakatu, a mechanical engineer, said he had learned a lot from the training programme, adding “I am now involved in the design and fabrication of the Jumpers which is very technical and new to the country”.
Mr Otengo-Brakatu said operations in the oil industry was new to the country and commended the efforts of industry players, particularly Technip, to train local personnel.
As part of his training, Mr Otengo-Brakatu also visited various global oil and gas activities centres to re-enforce his global industry knowledge and is currently onboard the Deep Blue, offshore Jubilee Field.
The Deep Blue is one the most advanced pipe-lay and construction vessel of the subsea industry and the flag ship of the Technip fleet. The vessel combines the highest technology for reel-lay, J-lay and flexi-lay operations.
He will later join the fabrication yard in Sekondi Naval Base for the jumper fabrication in the country where he is expected to transfer the knowledge to his fellow compatriots.
The six-month training focused on areas such as installation on site, design, software applications, installation engineering, fabrication, procurement, mobilisations and ensuring quality health and safety.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Country Manager of the company, Mr Stephan Sole, said the move was a demonstration of the company’s long-term commitment to offshore operations in the country.
He said, “Technip is not only here to stay but also making sure that Ghanaians are well trained to take over the offshore operations in the country’s oilfields in future”.
Mr Sole expressed satisfaction at the issue of local content, which he said was one of the areas the company had its focus on.
One of the trainees, Mr Godfred Otengo Brakatu, a mechanical engineer, said he had learned a lot from the training programme, adding “I am now involved in the design and fabrication of the Jumpers which is very technical and new to the country”.
Mr Otengo-Brakatu said operations in the oil industry was new to the country and commended the efforts of industry players, particularly Technip, to train local personnel.
As part of his training, Mr Otengo-Brakatu also visited various global oil and gas activities centres to re-enforce his global industry knowledge and is currently onboard the Deep Blue, offshore Jubilee Field.
The Deep Blue is one the most advanced pipe-lay and construction vessel of the subsea industry and the flag ship of the Technip fleet. The vessel combines the highest technology for reel-lay, J-lay and flexi-lay operations.
He will later join the fabrication yard in Sekondi Naval Base for the jumper fabrication in the country where he is expected to transfer the knowledge to his fellow compatriots.
Monday, April 5, 2010
APS ENHANCES CAPABILITIES OF NAVIES (PAGE 5, APRIL 1, 2010)
The focus of the African Partnership Station (APS) this year is vital to the professional development and response capabilities of the navies across the sub-region.
The APS is an international maritime safety and security initiative that enhances maritime security through partnerships with common goals to ensure that the coasts of Africa are safe from drugs, weapons, human trafficking, illegal trafficking and other forms of illegitimate and harmful activities offshore.
On board a selected vessel, partners including Ghana, Nigeria and Togo worked together to promote sustainable peace and stability on the African continent.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Sao Tome & Principe, the Hub Officer for APS, Lt. Cdr. Samuel Ayelazono, said the important component of the work of the navy was infrastructure.
He said the Ghana Navy needed infrastructure to carry out its mandate and noted that there were signals that the government had taken such issues seriously to provide modern platforms to help boost the fleet of the Ghana Navy to be more effective and efficient in the discharge of its duties.
Aside the new platforms, he said, there would be refitting of the older crafts to stay longer at sea instead of sailing for a short time.
The hub officer said currently there are 12 sailors and 5 officers from the Ghana Navy who are currently undergoing training together with their counterparts from Nigeria and Togo in the areas of oil platform protection, search and rescue, small boat maintenance, intelligence, maritime law, medical emergency first responder, meteorology, fisheries management and anti-terrorism.
The officer said the four pillars of this year APS, which were the professional development of officers and sailors of the navies, response capabilities, maritime awareness and logistics or infrastructure, would go a long way in equipping the trainees.
In the long run, they were aimed at improving maritime security along the coasts of the Gulf of Guinea, as well as enhancing cooperation between the people in the sub-region.
No nation in the world, he said, could contain maritime threat alone irrespective of the said country’s response capabilities, but teamwork.
Asked if they had been able to achieve any of the set targets for this year, he said the training had covered all areas under the set targets.
He said while sovereign states worked to ensure that they equipped their forces, the training came in handy to ensure that those who would be deployed to man this operation had the understanding of the mission before sailing.
That aside, he said navies from various countries would share ideas and experiences from their respective countries, which was vital for the needed teamwork aimed at finding solution to the same problem.
APS began in 2006 after series of maritime conferences in West and Central Africa when leaders of Africa stated their desire to improve maritime governance and create a stable maritime environment.
The APS is an international maritime safety and security initiative that enhances maritime security through partnerships with common goals to ensure that the coasts of Africa are safe from drugs, weapons, human trafficking, illegal trafficking and other forms of illegitimate and harmful activities offshore.
On board a selected vessel, partners including Ghana, Nigeria and Togo worked together to promote sustainable peace and stability on the African continent.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Sao Tome & Principe, the Hub Officer for APS, Lt. Cdr. Samuel Ayelazono, said the important component of the work of the navy was infrastructure.
He said the Ghana Navy needed infrastructure to carry out its mandate and noted that there were signals that the government had taken such issues seriously to provide modern platforms to help boost the fleet of the Ghana Navy to be more effective and efficient in the discharge of its duties.
Aside the new platforms, he said, there would be refitting of the older crafts to stay longer at sea instead of sailing for a short time.
The hub officer said currently there are 12 sailors and 5 officers from the Ghana Navy who are currently undergoing training together with their counterparts from Nigeria and Togo in the areas of oil platform protection, search and rescue, small boat maintenance, intelligence, maritime law, medical emergency first responder, meteorology, fisheries management and anti-terrorism.
The officer said the four pillars of this year APS, which were the professional development of officers and sailors of the navies, response capabilities, maritime awareness and logistics or infrastructure, would go a long way in equipping the trainees.
In the long run, they were aimed at improving maritime security along the coasts of the Gulf of Guinea, as well as enhancing cooperation between the people in the sub-region.
No nation in the world, he said, could contain maritime threat alone irrespective of the said country’s response capabilities, but teamwork.
Asked if they had been able to achieve any of the set targets for this year, he said the training had covered all areas under the set targets.
He said while sovereign states worked to ensure that they equipped their forces, the training came in handy to ensure that those who would be deployed to man this operation had the understanding of the mission before sailing.
That aside, he said navies from various countries would share ideas and experiences from their respective countries, which was vital for the needed teamwork aimed at finding solution to the same problem.
APS began in 2006 after series of maritime conferences in West and Central Africa when leaders of Africa stated their desire to improve maritime governance and create a stable maritime environment.
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