A daring plan to escape custody at the Kwabenya Police Station in the Greater Accra region was facilitated by a hacksaw blade hidden in a bread, details of police investigations have revealed.

The hacksaw blade was given to an inmate, Rockson Edem Dzigbede, by his brother to try and cut the padlock.

But all efforts failed.

Rockson got his brother to bring in the equipment after he called him using a mobile phone which was also smuggled into the cell by a bread seller, Nancy Dentah, who is also standing trial.

When the Dzigbede plan to escape using the hacksaw blade failed, his two cellmates activated another plan to attack the police station.

Dickson Ofori and Chibuzor Akuba collaborated with their ‘spiritual father’ Prince Kofi Acheampong, a herbalist at Afienya in Tema in the Greater Accra region.

Dickson and Chibuzor are part of the herbalist’s gang he sends on armed robbery operations. With his boys trapped in the cell, Mr Acheampong dispatched a gang that attacked the cell.

The six-man gang laid an ambush at the police station on Sunday dawn. Two of them went to the charge office where they met a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) Robert Owusu and pretended to lodge a complaint.

The gang members said someone had borrowed money and failed to pay and they were, therefore, seeking police assistance to get their money back.

But NCO Owusu advised them to sue since it was a civil case.

The gang emerged from their hide-out, stormed the charge office and held three other officers - the station orderly, charge office guard and night investigator - hostage.

One of them, Kwesi Seshie, a driver, is said to have shot the Police Inspector Emmanuel Ashilevi who later died at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra. The police inspector who was the monitoring officer on the day was shot in the right buttocks.

Photo: Police Inspector Emmanuel Ashilevi

Dickson Ofori and Chibuzor Akuba are on the run but their spiritual father has been arrested.

Prince Osei who was first to overhear Dickson and Chibuzor plan their escape has also been arrested upon a tip-off. 

Osei and another escapee Atta Kwadwo were given GH¢200 by a 30-year old electrician George Yeboah aka Kwesi Shower to help them leave town.

They left to Worawora in the Volta region, more than 270km away from Kwabenya, but they were arrested three days after they broke out of the Kwabenya police station.

George Yeboah who lives at Graphic Road in Accra and funded the escape to Volta region also paid GH¢40 to Kofi Darko to do same but he has also been arrested.

Prince Osei, a 25-year old scrap dealer who lives in Dansoman and Atta Kwadwo, a 20-year old driver's mate who lives at Tema, pleaded guilty to charges of abetment to escape lawful custody and escaping lawful custody.

The third accused person Kofi Darko pleaded not guilty to the charges. 

Nine other suspects arrested in connection with the attack have been charged with abetment to escape from lawful custody. They all pleaded not guilty.

Two other cellmates Dickson Ofori and Chibuzoe Akuba are yet to be arrested.

In all, 12 persons are standing trial for their involvement in the Sunday attack, which the Inspector General of Police, David Asante-Apeatu has described as an "awful and unforgettable day".

Photos: inmates who escaped cell at Kwabenya Police Station

 

Accused persons and charge 

1. Prince Osei -
-charged with possessing firearm without lawful authority (On hold),

-conspiracy to commit crime to wit escape from lawful custody (pleaded guilty)

-Escape from lawful custody(pleaded guilty)

2. Atta Kwadwo 

-conspiracy to commit crime to wit escape from lawful custody (pleaded guilty)

-Escape from lawful custody(pleaded guilty)

3. Kofi Darko 

conspiracy to commit crime to wit escape from lawful custody (pleaded not guilty)

-Escape from lawful custody(pleaded not guilty)

4.Nancy Denta

5.George Yeboah 

6.Prince Acheampong

7. Edward Lartey 

8. Kofi Seshie 

9.George Sarbah 

10. Elvis Owusu 

11. George Asante and

12. Theophilus Bandah charged with Abetment to escape from lawful custody.

 

Timeline of Kwabenya Gang attack

21 January 2018: At about 1:30am Sunday, a six-man gang attacked Kwabenya police station and freed seven cell inmates. Inspector Emmanuel Ashilevi believed to be in his 40's was killed.

22 January 2018: Police in Accra screen an undisclosed number of suspects picked up in connection with the deadly Sunday dawn cell break at Kwabenya in the Greater Accra Region.

23 January 2018: Inspector General of Police (IGP), David Asante-Appeatu, summoned to Parliament over the recent killings of police officers.

25 January 2018: Inspector General of Police, David Asante-Apeatu addresses press conference and names four suspects have been picked up in relation to the killing of the Inspector and the jailbreak.

27 January 2018: Kwabenya police attack: Cop killer arrested

28 January 2018: A one-week memorial service is held at the Pokuase residence of Inspector Emmanuel Ashilevi who was murdered last Sunday.

29 January 2018: Police schedule Feb 4 for 'special prayers' against attacks

30 January 2018: 12 arraigned at Accra Circuit court; 2 convicted after confessing to crime