The Tema Circuit Court A has placed Eric Gyimah and two others on remand after they tied Daniel Azure's neck with a rope and robbed him of his Toyota Vitz taxi.

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The taxi cab, which is worth Gh43,000, belongs to Rutherford N. A. Amarteifio.

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After the accused entered a not guilty plea, the case was continued to August 28 of this year by the court, presided over by Ms. Agnes Opoku Banie.

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According to the prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) George Doe, the complainant, Azure, is a driver who lives in Kasoa Amanfrom in the Central Region, while Gyimah is a businessman and Agbodzahu Wobube works as a nurse at the government hospital in Sogakope.

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Gyimah and Wobube both resided at Adidome in the Volta region, according to ASP Doe.

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According to the prosecution, Azure was driving a light grey and yellow taxi cab on May 18, 2023, around 13:40.

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The prosecution claims that Gyimah and two other men, who are still at large, hired him to drive them to a construction site in the Central University neighbourhood of Dawhenya so they could take pictures of the building as it was being built and send them to their brother who was living abroad. This was done at a location close to Coral Paint, a paint shop, in Accra.

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Gyimah reportedly then sat in the front seat with the two other men in the back, according to the prosecution. Gyimah and his two companions instructed the complainant to turn left onto a rough road as soon as they reached the Aflao Highway, just after the Central University.

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ASP Doe said that while they were on their way to the building site at a point, Gyimah asked the complainant to stop, which he obliged, and the three men alighted from the taxi.

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They then told Azure to wait for them so that they could go and take pictures of the said building and come back. After a few minutes, they returned and sat again in their various seats in the taxi cab and asked the complainant to drive back towards Accra.

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According to the prosecution, Azure turned the vehicle, and on their way, the two men seated behind him hooked his neck with a rope and pulled it against his seat, while Gyimah pulled out a knife on him.

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ASP Doe said Azure held the knife, but Gyimah pulled it through his palm, and he sustained a cut in his right palm. Gyimah again used the knife to cut the leg of the Azure multiple times while the vehicle was still in motion, a situation that caused the car to move in a zigzag manner.

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According to the prosecution, Gyimah then put off the engine of the taxi cab and forcefully took the ignition sensor, which was then hooked to Azure’s belt hole.

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ASP Doe said Gyimah then came out of the front seat and pinned Azure down with the help of the other two men.

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The three men managed to pull Azure out of the taxi cab and dump him in a pool of water on the road. Gyimah and the other two men sat in the taxi cab and drove away.

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The prosecution said Azure staggered to his feet, proceeded to Dawhenya police station, and lodged a complaint the same day.

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ASP Doe said Azure had his Samsung A11 mobile phone valued at Gh₵1,600.00 together with his A.M.A. licence and Driver’s licence in the car.

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During investigations, the said taxi cab was spotted at a mechanic shop in Sogakope, having been embossed with a new number plate of GN5669-22.

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According to the prosecution, Wobube was mentioned as the one who brought the taxi cab for repairs; thereafter, he was arrested, and upon investigation, he mentioned Gyimah as the one who sold the taxi cab to him for Gh₵30,000.00.

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ASP Doe said Wobube led police to arrest Gyimah, who was identified by Azure as one of his attackers.

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After investigations, Gyimah was charged with the offence and arraigned.

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