A Nigerian national, Augustine Okechuku Maazi, appeared before the Accra Circuit Court 8 in Ghana on Monday, August 17, in connection with an alleged plot to rob three banks in the Labone area of Accra.
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Maazi was arrested on Thursday, August 13, after Ghanaian police said they foiled the alleged robbery operation. Two other suspects were reportedly killed in a shootout with police, while a fourth suspect escaped.
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However, the incident has since become mired in controversy after GCB Bank denied that its Labone branch was attacked or targeted in any attempted robbery, raising questions about the circumstances surrounding the operation.
According to the Ghana Police Service, officers received intelligence at about 10:45 a.m. on August 13 indicating that a gang was preparing to attack GCB Bank, Ecobank, and Zenith Bank, all located in the Labone area. Police said officers deployed to the area subsequently spotted suspected gang members in vehicles parked near the banks.
The police said one of the vehicles sped off after its occupants noticed the officers, triggering a chase that led to Maazi’s arrest, while another occupant managed to escape. They added that occupants of a second vehicle also attempted to flee while firing at officers, resulting in a shootout in which two suspects were killed.
Police said two vehicles were recovered from the suspects a Toyota Highlander with registration number GS-1434-18 and a Hyundai Tucson with registration number GS-7915-17 along with a blank-firing pistol.
GCB Bank, however, subsequently disputed the police account, stating that no robbery or attempted robbery took place at its Labone branch. The bank said the facility was never breached and that no customers, staff, funds, or property were affected.
The conflicting accounts have raised questions about the precise nature of the incident and whether the suspects were, in fact, preparing to rob the banks as alleged by police. Further questions emerged after checks reportedly showed that the Toyota Highlander identified by police had previously been listed by Ghanaian authorities as impounded in 2019, casting doubt on the vehicle’s history and aspects of the police account.
The controversy has also drawn the attention of the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana, which reportedly dispatched the President of All Nigerian Communities in Ghana to Ghana Police Headquarters to seek clarification over Maazi’s arrest and the deaths of the two other suspects.
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