A police officer has been confirmed dead following a shootout with a group of armed robbers along the Zebilla–Widnaba road in the Bawku Division on Sunday, February 8.
The gunfire reportedly erupted after the robbers attempted to rob two police officers.
In response, the officers engaged the robbers in a gunfight. Tragically, one officer lost his life during the incident. The Upper East Regional Police Command has launched an investigation into the matter.
In recent years, the Police Service has made significant progress in tackling robberies and prosecuting offenders. In September, the Ghana Police Service arrested ten individuals and shot three others dead in its efforts to crack down on a series of violent rural bank robberies across the country.
Authorities allege that the 15-member gang has been behind a series of robberies in the Ahafo, Western, Central, Eastern, and Ashanti Regions.
On Sunday, September 14, 2025, at 3:30 am, the ring invaded the Saint Martin’s De Porres Cooperative Credit Union with pump-action guns and AK-47 rifles.
They escaped the premises with cash after holding the security guard and his wife hostage.
Briefing the media on Wednesday, September 24, the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Lydia Yaako Donkor, said the police recovered a large cache of weapons, vehicles, and valuables following the operation.
One of their AK-47 rifles has been traced to one Corporal Francis Adu Yaw of the Tepa District. The said police officer was killed on November 29, 2024, by armed robbers on the Bibiani-Goaso highway.
The items seized included three AK-47 assault rifles; one single-barrel gun with one AAA round; seven pump-action guns with 96 rounds of AAA ammunition; three Bruni pistols with 40 rounds of ammunition; one M&P pistol with four rounds of ammunition; cash amounting to GH¢18,845, $104, 190 Liberian dollars, ₦5,800, and CFA 31,000; a quantity of assorted Ghanaian coins; six vehicles; four motorbikes; and several mobile phones and pieces of jewellery.
According to the Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), the gang’s operations were successfully undercovered after six months of sustained intelligence operations.
“Through sustained intelligence operations, the Ghana Police Service has successfully dismantled the notorious criminal syndicate who have been behind several robberies in various regions of the country,” she stated.
In August this year, Service announced the retrieval of items used by a gang of armed men during a gold shop robbery at Mpohor in the Western Region over the weekend.
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.
Currently, the police are on a manhunt for eight others allegedly involved in the heist. They added that two men who were standing by the vehicle fled upon seeing the approaching patrol team.
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.
“The Ghana Police Service, in its ongoing investigation into the Mpohor gold shop robbery case, has recovered weapons, ammunition, clothing items and some other exhibits linked to the case. As part of intensified anti-robbery patrols, officers from the Kuntanase District in the Ashanti Region intercepted a suspicious white Toyota Sienta near the Aputuoagya–Bekwai road.
“Two men who were standing by the vehicle fled into the bush upon seeing the approaching police patrol team. A thorough search of the vehicle uncovered an AK-47 assault rifle, a locally manufactured firearm, two AK-47 magazines loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition each, additional packets of ammunition, cowrie shells, a Huawei smartphone, identity documents, and some clothing items.
“A careful examination of the recovered exhibits against the CCTV footage of the Mpohor robbery revealed a striking resemblance between the clothing items (hooded tops) and the Wellington boots that were used during the robbery. The recovery of these items marks a significant step in the ongoing investigation and manhunt for the suspects,” parts of the statement read.
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.
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 Offenses 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 the 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.Meanwhile, the Police has assured the public of its commitment to ensuring security, law, and order across the country.