Despite the fate suffered by Constable Reindolph Gyimah Ansah (Pablo) of the Ghana Police Service and his team of James Town armed robbers, the criminals have still not learnt any useful lesson and continue to unleash havoc on police personnel whose ‘crime’ is protecting the state and its assets.
In 2022, Constance Emmanuel Osei, who was then escorting a bullion van was cruelly murdered by armed robbers who were trailing them at James Town in Accra.
Constable Emmanuel Osei was shot and killed whilst sitting in front of the vehicle carrying money that belonged to one of the commercial banks. It was later discovered that the killing, which shook the foundation of our dear nation, was executed by some personnel of the Police Service, led by the late Pablo. Pablo and his gang did not have mercy on one of their own, but rather opened fire and killed Osei.
As fate would have it, Pablo himself was gunned down by his colleagues when he allegedly tried to escape, somewhere along the Accra-Tema Motorway. The suspect (Pablo) had led his colleagues (uniformed officers) to locate the hiding place of some of the suspects involved in the crime, but attempted to escape and the resultant firing of gunshots led to his death.
Since the police did not spare their wayward colleague, one would have expected that enough warning had been sent out there to the criminals that they would be dealt with ruthlessly, should they try to take the life of any police personnel. But, alas, this has not happened!
The criminals have mastered courage to gun down another police officer escorting a bullion van, this time, at Ablekuma Fan Milk, a suburb of Accra. Like the James Town case, allegedly executed by Pablo and his team in 2022, the robbers shot and killed the police officer who was sitting in front of the vehicle.
The police have, so far, not issued any statement indicating that they had made any breakthrough in their investigations into the case. The Chronicle, however, believes that the police are seriously working on the case to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book.
Though we trust the police to get to the bottom of the case, they will still need the support of the public. The Chronicle is, therefore, appealing to the general public to volunteer information that will lead to the arrest of the suspects.
In a video that has since gone viral on social media, the face of one of the alleged armed robbers is clearly seen. Whether the suspect is a Ghanaian or a foreigner, he is definitely living among the civilian population, who must be prepared to expose him (suspected killer) to the police.
Though there were rumours in the past about the exposure of informants by the police to the criminals, we do not think such a conduct, if it was true, can happen under the current George Akuffo Dampare administration.
These criminals, who have committed the latest heinous crime, should not be allowed to go unpunished, especially when they have killed a police personnel, who is the breadwinner of his family.
They must, at all costs, dead or alive, be located and arrested to face the full rigours of the law. But, whilst we wait to hear the good news that the criminals have been arrested, the ease with which the front door of the bullion van was opened by one of the robbers must be investigated.
As seen in the video that we have earlier referenced before the bullion van could properly park, one of the robbers had already rushed to the side where the police officer was sitting, opened the door, and fired at him at close range.
We assume that since the doors of most modern vehicles are centrally controlled from the driver’s side, The Chronicle is wondering the motivation to release the central lock when the vehicle had not fully parked. It could be a mistake, but it is only an investigation that can prove or disapprove such a claim.
Again, since the armed robbers have seen a loophole, which they are exploiting, The Chronicle advises the police hierarchy to force the banks to install cameras on the Bullion vans that can capture all movements and activities around the vehicle whilst it is in motion.
We believe when this is done, the passengers in the vehicle can monitor all the cars and motorbikes following them and capturing their activities as well.
The Chronicle also wants relevant stakeholders like banks, the Bank of Ghana, Ghana Police Service and the Association of Bullion Operators Ghana (ABOG) to expedite the deployment of armored bullion vans to prevent the loss of lives, particularly among police escorts.
The war against armed robbery and killing of police personnel must certainly be won. All hands must, therefore, be on deck.
