The Tamale High Court Two has sentenced four men to eight years’ imprisonment with hard labour each after convicting them of kidnapping and related offences in a case involving a ransom payment of GH¢90,000.
The Northern Regional Police Commander, DCOP Wisdom Lavoe, announced the convictions during a press briefing in Tamale on Tuesday, highlighting the police’s ongoing efforts to tackle kidnapping and violent crime in the region.
The convicts — Haruna Seidu, Osman Sambo, Amadu Aminu and Hoyeefe Amadu — were found guilty of conspiring to kidnap, kidnapping, causing harm and issuing threats of death. According to DCOP Lavoe, the men abducted a victim at Wapuli and demanded ransom from his family.
Police officers from the Northern Regional Police Intelligence Unit later arrested the suspects at Bokpaba along the Yendi–Bimbilla road while they were reportedly sharing the ransom proceeds.
Although each convict received an eight-year prison sentence, the court ordered the terms to run concurrently. The court also directed that four motorbikes and four mobile phones seized during investigations be auctioned, with the proceeds paid into the Consolidated Fund.
Additionally, GH¢70,010 recovered from the ransom money is to be returned to the complainant’s brother, Buubu Osman.
DCOP Lavoe disclosed that investigations are continuing into other kidnapping cases across the region. One such case involved the abduction of a teenage boy in Kabulya after armed men attacked the residence of Laolo Issah and assaulted two family members. The kidnappers initially demanded GH¢100,000 before reducing the amount to GH¢20,000.
Police intelligence operations led to the arrest of Amadu Abubakari at the Binda barrier, where officers recovered the GH¢20,000 ransom and an unregistered motorbike. He reportedly confessed to participating in the crime and identified accomplices who remain at large.
The kidnapped victim, Ali Issah, was later found at Kpandai Government Hospital with a gunshot wound to the jaw and was subsequently transferred to Tamale Teaching Hospital for specialised treatment.
In another incident, 26-year-old Yahaya Issahaq was abducted on May 25 while grazing cattle in the Mion District. His captors allegedly demanded GH¢200,000, later reducing the amount to GH¢150,000.
Through intelligence gathering and digital tracking, police located the victim’s body on May 28 near River Dakar at Kpajie, close to Nakpa. Authorities said he had sustained gunshot wounds to the chest and was found with a chain around his neck.
DCOP Lavoe extended condolences to the bereaved family and assured the public that efforts were ongoing to arrest all suspects linked to the crimes.
He reaffirmed the Northern Regional Police Command’s commitment to combating kidnapping and other violent offences and urged members of the public to assist investigations by reporting relevant information through emergency numbers 191, 18555, or at the nearest police station.