A group of armed robbers have attacked at least 20 passengers at gunpoint in a Sprinter bus with registration number GG 4181-16 enroute to Kumasi on the Sunyani road in the Ashanti Region.According to Citi News, the incident occurred around 1:00 a.m. on Friday, September 12, between Tweapease and Mfensi, near the Moments of Glory Prayer Army (MOGPA).

Per a victim’s account, the armed men who were five in number ordered passengers to surrender their belongings, including money, mobile phones, and other valuables after blocking the road.

The passenger added that the victims were left severely traumatised; however, no one was physically assaulted during the robbery. Residents and commuters have since lamented over the deplorable state of that stretch.

They have attributed the increasing spate of robberies in the area to the poor road. In recent years, the Police Service has made significant progress in tackling robberies and prosecuting offenders.

Currently, the police are on a manhunt for eight others allegedly involved in a gold shop robbery at Mpohor in the Western Region . The Ghana Police declared them wanted after they retrieve of items used by a gang of armed men during a gold shop robbery.

Weapons, ammunition, clothing, and other materials were among the exhibits. According to a Facebook post on Tuesday, August 19, the police stated that the retrieved items would aid in the ongoing investigation into the case.

On Sunday, August 17, one person was arrested in connection with the robbery. The police explained that the retrieval was made possible after officers from the Kuntanase District in the Ashanti Region intercepted a suspicious white Toyota Sienta near the Aputuoagya–Bekwai road.

According to the police, a search of the vehicle led to the recovery of an AK-47 assault rifle, a locally manufactured firearm, two AK-47 magazines loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition each, and other materials believed to have been used during the robbery.

On July 30, a shootout between suspected armed robbers and police officers at Atebubu in the Bono East Region led to the death of two suspects.

According to the Ghana Police Service, the patrol team encountered a robbery attack on commuters along the Atebubu Highway. The suspects opened fire on the officers upon sighting them.

Those struck during the exchange were rushed to a hospital but were pronounced dead on arrival, while others escaped into nearby bushes.

A search of the scene led to the retrieval of a shotgun loaded with two live cartridges, four spent cartridges, and a machete. Intensive efforts are still underway to apprehend the fugitives, police confirmed.

On July 15, an intelligence-led operation by the Police Intelligence Directorate (PID) foiled a robbery attempt by five armed men targeting a foreign national at Cantonments. Police received credible intelligence that the men were lodging at a hotel in Labadi.

While en route in a Toyota Yaris vehicle, the suspects opened fire on a police team after detecting surveillance. An officer sustained gunshot wounds, and in the ensuing shootout, two suspects died after being rushed to the Ghana Police Hospital.

The injured officer, who suffered gunshot wounds to his arm and legs, has been hospitalized and is responding to treatment. Police retrieved two pump-action guns loaded with ammunition, live cartridges, three mobile phones, talismans, and other items from the scene.

What the law says about robbery and stealing

Section 149 of the Criminal Offences Act states that a person who commits robbery commits a first-degree felony. Per Section 150, “a person who steals a thing commits robbery (a) if in, and for the purpose of stealing the thing, that person uses force or causes harm to any other person, or (b) if that person uses a threat or criminal assault or harm to any other person, with intent to prevent or overcome the resistance of the other person to the stealing of the thing.”

Section 124 of the Criminal Offences Act also indicates that a person who steals commits a second-degree felony. Where the court that finds a person guilty of stealing is satisfied that, on not less than two previous occasions, the accused was found guilty of stealing, the court shall order that the whole or a part of the term of imprisonment imposed shall be spent in productive hard labour.

A person subjected to such an order is disqualified from election to Parliament or a District Assembly within the meaning of the Local Government Act, 1993 (Act 462), for up to five years. Productive hard labour refers to labour in a state farm, state factory, or any other public co-operative or collective enterprise specified by the Minister.

Police efforts in combating robbery, in July, the Police secured a conviction in a four-year-old armed robbery case that occurred in Atonsu, Kuwait, Kumasi. The Kumasi Circuit Court sentenced two individuals to 15 years imprisonment for their role in the violent incident. The convicts, Abass Kasim (26) and Daniel Morro, alias "China" (25), were part of a gang of five that attacked a resident in Atonsu Kuwait on July 31, 2021, around 2:30 a.m.

The gang, wielding a pistol and cutlasses, shot the victim in the abdomen, inflicted multiple cutlass wounds, and robbed him of valuables including an iPhone 11 worth GHS 5,500, a Samsung phone worth GHS 500, two Apple Watches valued at GHS 3,000, two ladies’ handbags, jewelry, $600, and an unspecified amount of Ghana cedis.

Following investigations, Abass Kasim was arrested on August 12, 2021. During interrogation, he confessed and led police to arrest Daniel Morro. A pistol used in the attack was later retrieved.

On August 19, 2021, the suspects were arraigned before Kumasi Circuit Court 4 and remanded into custody after pleading not guilty.

They reappeared on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, when they were convicted and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment each on charges including conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery, unlawful entry, abetment of crime, and possession of firearms without authority.

The sentences are to run concurrently. They have since been transferred to the Central Prisons in Kumasi. Meanwhile, three accomplices remain at large.

The police also reported another success after an armed robber, Paul Avortide, was sentenced to 19 years with hard labour for robbery. The 25-year-old, on May 21 at about 4:00 a.m., attacked a pregnant Nigerian woman, Ogechi Chidiebere, at Tsikpota near New Housing, Ho.

Armed with a machete, he robbed her of GHS 3,000 and a Tecno Spark 30c phone valued at GHS 2,500 as she made her way to antenatal care.On June 19, police arrested Harmony Nbonu at Ho Main Market with the stolen phone.

He confessed that Avortide had sold it to him for GHS 850. A coordinated operation led to Avortide’s arrest at Matse, a suburb of Ho, as he attempted to flee.

After investigations, Avortide was charged with robbery under Section 149 of the Criminal Offences Act, while Nbonu was charged with Dishonestly Receiving under Section 146.

They were arraigned before Ho Circuit Court on Tuesday, July 1. Avortide pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 19 years in prison, while Nbonu was acquitted and discharged.

Meanwhile, three individuals suspected in a robbery at Nyanikrom near Shama Junction on Wednesday, July 9, were apprehended. They are Francis Mensah, alias Francis Kwaw (34), Ebenezer Cofie (32), and Samuel Bentum (35).

The Western Regional Police Command arrested them following targeted surveillance based on credible intelligence.

Police revealed that the suspects, armed with insider information, planned to rob company officials returning from a bank in Takoradi with salary funds. On the said day, the suspects ambushed the company vehicle near Unique School Junction at Nyanikrom.

They broke the vehicle’s window and made away with the cash. A swift police response led to the arrest of three suspects and the recovery of GHS 149,500.

The suspects are currently in custody assisting with investigations. However, the company’s driver, Maxwell Kofi Yeboah, alleged to have conspired with them, is at large and being pursued.

"The Western Regional Police Command assures the public that efforts are ongoing to apprehend the remaining suspect and bring all perpetrators to justice," the police said.

Despite these successes, the Police Service continues to suffer casualties in its fight against armed robbery. Several officers have lost their lives while on duty, though the exact number remains unclear.One such incident occurred in September 2024, when an officer was ambushed and killed by armed robbers at Kwame Peprakrom in the Central Region.

In response, the government introduced a GHS 50,000 insurance scheme for officers who lose their lives while on duty.