A 21-year-old Okada rider who allegedly robbed a pedestrian’s mobile phone near the Ghana Police Service headquarters has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment by an Accra Circuit Court.

Emmanuel Waki, also known as Pocket is said to have committed the act when the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare together with his bodyguards and the Police Management Team had returned from observational team duties on December 19, 2022, and entering the Police headquarters.

The bodyguards of the IGP picked up Salifu Alhaji, an accomplice, who was also around the scene and led the Police to arrest Waki at his residence at Fadama in Accra.

Waki who was charged with conspiracy to commit a crime namely robbery pleaded guilty.

The court presided over by Samuel Bright Acquah sentenced Waki to 10 years imprisonment on the charge of conspiracy to commit a crime and 15 years imprisonment on the charge of robbery.

The sentences are to run concurrently.

The accomplice, Salifu Alhaji, aka Malika, a 24-year-old Okada rider, who was also facing the same charges, denied the offence.

The court has, however, remanded Alhaji into Police custody to reappear on January 17.

The prosecution, led by Inspector Isaac Babayi opposed the grant of bail for Alhaji.

The prosecution narrated that on Monday, December 19, 2022, at about 20:10 hours, the IGP with his bodyguards returned from their routine observational duties.

Whiles standing in front of the Police headquarters, the IGP and his team spotted a motorbike rider riding in a suspicious manner from the Ghana Fire Service headquarters direction heading towards Arko Adjei interchange.

The prosecution told the court that the said rider suddenly diverted from the approved lane he was supposed to use to the opposite lane facing oncoming vehicles.

It said on reaching the pedestrian pavement opposite the CID headquarters, the said suspicious rider snatched the mobile phone of a pedestrian who was then waiting for a vehicle and sped off.

The prosecution said the pedestrian (victim) attempted to chase the said rider but to no avail.

However, the bodyguards of the IGP who witnessed the crime from a distance chased the motorbike rider and within a few minutes, they accosted Alhaji who was then using a red Apsonic motorbike with registration number M-20-GR-6987 whose personality had semblance with the perpetrator and handed him over for investigations.

The prosecution said during investigations, Alhaji denied the offence and mentioned Waki as the one who robbed the pedestrian - saying he (Alhaji) spotted Waki on his motorbike and Waki sped off from the direction of the robbery on the day of the incident.

Alhaji further indicated that he had parked his motorbike in front of the Assemblies of God Church along the Ghana Institute of Journalism route.

The prosecution said on December 20, 2022, Alhaji led the Police to the residence of Waki at Old Fadama and he was arrested.

During investigations, Waki admitted that he was the one who robbed the pedestrian of his mobile phone.

The prosecution said Waki also confessed to selling the mobile phone to one Mohammed at GHC300.00.