Two Nigerians accused of kidnapping an 80-year-old American woman, appeared before the Accra circuit court.
Emmanuel Adedoyin Adebayor, a 28-year-old trader, and Esther Ogbonna, a beautician, were arrested by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in collaboration with the Ghana Police Service.
Dennis Poromo, the third accused, is said to be at large.
Adebayor and Poromo have been charged with conspiracy to commit crime to wit kidnapping and stealing, and Esther is facing an abetment charge.
Adebayor and Ogbonna have pleaded not guilty.
The court, presided by Mr Samuel Bright Acquah, granted GH¢500,000 bail with two sureties, to Adebayor and Ogbonna.
One of the sureties, the court said, should come from the Nigerian Community in Ghana and the other should be a Ghanaian.
Again, the accused should deposit their travelling certificate at the court’s registrar’s office and report themselves to the police twice every month.
The matter has been adjourned to March 5, 2025.
Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Daniel Danku, who held brief of Superintendent of Police Augustine Yirenkyi, said the police received a complainant from the FBI agents of American Embassy in Accra that a female American, Diana Christine Nelson, had been kidnapped by unknown persons.
The court heard that the 80-year-old victim arrived in Ghana on November 22, 2024.
Chief Insp Danku said police investigations revealed that the victim and the accused were in a hotel in Larteh Akwapim in the Eastern Region.
The court heard that on December 11, 2024, the police arrested Adebayor when he went to withdraw money from the accounts of the victim using her US ATM debit card.
Chief Insp Danku disclosed that Adebayor led the police to a house at Tema Community 11, where the victim was being held as a hostage in an apartment.
The prosecution said that the victim, who appeared traumatised was taken to the hospital.
Chief Insp Danku further stated that investigations revealed that Adebayor posed as Mark Hammond, a popular actor in the US, and lured the victim to Ghana.
The court heard that Ogbonna picked the victim up from the Kotoka International Airport, Accra, took her to an apartment in East Legon Hills and later transferred her to Tema Community 11.
Chief Insp Danku said from the time the victim arrived in Ghana until the arrest of the two accused, it Ogbonna who was taking care of the victim.
The court also heard that when the victim arrived in the country, the accused seized all her four phones and bank cards, and warned not to disclose any information to anyone.
According to prosecution, Adebayor and his friend, Poromo, withdrew a total of $15,821.70 from the victim’s bank account using her visa card, and also demanded a ransom of $150,000 from the family of the victim.
Moreover, Chief Insp Danku disclosed that the bank cards and mobile phones, were retrieved from Adebayor and Poromo, who sold them at Kwame Nkrumah Circle, Accra.
The prosecution said GH¢7,000 and GH¢4,000 being proceeds of the phone sold, and part of the withdrawal made from the ATM respectively, were also retrieved from Adebayor. —GNA
