The suspects; Inusah Braimah, 34, Iddrisu Amidu alias Jogo, 34, Hamidu Zonogor, 48, Kofi Bukari alias Mipellar, 42 and Musah Haruna, allegedly attacked and robbed the Total Fuel station on Friday 2^nd March,2018.

Background

[contextly_sidebar id=”X7QU9F9HJdlcBxFv10fE3ogR2oRClbE3″]Police at Asante Mampong had information that some suspected armed robbers numbering about six (6) had attacked and were robbing attendants at the Mampong Bosofour Total Fuel Station.

Police proceeded to crime scene, but the robbers had already left the scene leaving Davis Frimpong the Branch Manager station with injuries in the head.

The victim who was rushed to the Hospital informed police that five (5) men who were wielding machetes attacked the station at about 6:30 pm, and robbed them of cash sum of Eleven Thousand Ghana Cedis (Ghc 11,000) and five assorted mobile phones amidst gun shots.

An immediate search conducted by police at the scene revealed six (6) empty Supreme FTB BB and AAA, 32GR 70 MM cartridges.

The police patrol team after leaving the fuel station extended their patrols towards Mampong-Ejura road.

In the process, the team spotted an Opel Astra Taxi Cab with registration number GW 9311 V with two occupants on board at Kofiase junction.

The team became suspicious and approached them, but one of the occupants escaped leaving Inusah Braimah who was driver of the vehicle.

A search was immediately conducted on him in the Taxi Cab and the Eleven Thousand Ghana Cedis (Ghc 11,000) was found on him.

Suspect Braimah admitted to the crime and led Police to a nearby bush to retrieve two(2) shot guns, eleven live Supreme FTB BB and AAA, 32 GR 70MM cartridges and two torch lights.

The police also found two pair of trousers in the bush which the suspect admitted as one of the pair of trousers to be his, and the other belonging to his other accomplice known as Kofi Bukari.

Press Briefing

Addressing journalists in Kumasi, Ashanti Regional Police Commander, COP Ken Yeboah, said suspect Braimah led police to arrest the other accomplices at Memenaso near Ejura in the Brong Ahafo Region on 10^th March, 2018.

He said efforts are underway to arrest other members of the gang.

This arrest comes at a time when similar robberies have occurred in other parts of the country, raising concerns about general insecurity.

The police administration has stepped up efforts to reduce the robberies by arresting perpetrators and making sure they face the full rigours of the law.

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By: Hafiz Tijani/Citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post 5 arrested over Asante Mampong fuel station robbery appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

An Opel Astra taxi cab with registration ER 4249-X, travelling from Techiman to Ejura with five passengers on board at about 8:30 am on Thursday, collided head on with a Rhino truck with registration ER 4612-X from Ejura towards Nkoranza.

[contextly_sidebar id=”vJWEXBDKm04uLozmmmxa4C9EywXde4is”]According to Police, the driver of the taxi cab skidded off the road and entered the truck’s lane, colliding in the process.

Five passengers on board the Opel Astra taxi cab died on the spot, while one person from the truck died after being rushed to the Ejura Government Hospital.

The victims included two males, two females and two children.

Ejura/Sekyedumase District Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Richardson Kumeko, who confirmed the accident to Citi News said the bodies were conveyed to Mampong hospital morgue for preservation, identification and autopsy.

The country has recorded several fatal accidents in the country in just the first two months of the year 2018.

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By: Hafiz Tijani/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Ashanti Region: Six killed in accident near Ejura appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Caravan will travel eight hours to the Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi.

In Kumasi, the Heritage Caravan will visit two historical museums, the Military Museum and the Manhyia Palace Museum.

In the Volta Region, patrons of the the caravan visited, Wodome, a community split between Ghana and Togo.

The next stop was at the Kente Durbar at Agotime-Kpetoe.

The chiefs and people of Agortime-Kpetoe hosted a Kente durbar in honour of the patrons.

Another fascinating thing about the tour of the Volta Region was where the Caravan passed the night, Sky Plus.

From the hotel, patrons had a nice view of the whole Ho township.

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By: Kojo Agyeman/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post #HeritageCaravan heads to Kumasi appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to eyewitnesses, the fire started about 7:30 pm yesterday [Friday].

[contextly_sidebar id=”pl8En8RCDrfygfaDIwxeuINja3nXPOCx”]Residents tried to douse the fire and managed to prevent it from spreading to other shops before the arrival of firefighters from the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital fire station.

Some mechanics whose shops were affected spoke to Citi News and lamented over their losses which they claim run into thousands of cedis.

“I am an excavator mechanic, I do electrical and hydraulics. I was at home when I got a phone call that my shop is on fire. I have lost two hydraulic pumps to the fire which cost 40,000 Ghana cedis, I also lost fuel pumps, monitors and control board which cost 3000 Ghana cedis. I do not what caused the fire,” one mechanic said.

“I was on my way home, when I got a phone call asking me to return back to the shop because my shop was on fire. When I got there my shop was really on fire and all the help from people trying to put out the fire proved futile. It will be helpful if the government steps in to help us,” another mechanic said.

Fire officers have begun investigations into the incident to ascertain the real cause of the fire.

Disaster Control Officer for Kwadaso sub-metro, Musah Iddrisu was at the scene of the blaze to assess the extent of the damage.

“About four containers got burnt. One provisional shop and One container containing spare parts. We will do the assessment, value the assessment and send it to the authorities,” he said.

Earlier this month fire ravaged about seven container shops, two cars at a mechanic shop and school feeding foodstuffs for students of Nurul Islamic Basic School at Suame Magazine Zone 10, a suburb of Kumasi.

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By: Farida Yusif& Hafiz Tijani/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Kumasi: Fire guts cars, repair shop at Sofoline appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Council said it stands for the progress and development of the Kumasi Metropolis and will continue to support city authorities to implement policies that will benefit residents in Kumasi.

The KTC recently mediated a deal between a private developer and the assembly over the use of a piece of land for the completion of the ongoing Kejetia redevelopment project.

[contextly_sidebar id=”fLNIoAdXznDODQIRoyOBMb3P0cUbB6su”]The private developer and the KMA upon the supervision of the KTC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which will see a building belonging to the developer pulled down to make way for the project to be completed.

The Council also backed the KMA’s decongestion exercise to relocate traders from the Kejetia Market to Racecourse and other satellite markets within the metropolis.

Speaking at a meeting on Thursday, February 15, 2018, Otumfuo Kyeamehene, Nana Nsuase Poku Agyeman III emphasized that the Kumasi Traditional Council (KTC) was committed to supporting the Kumasi Mayor, Osei Assibey Antwi to pursue the development the people of Kumasi needed.

“I want to say clearly that no one is usurping the duties of the Mayor. The Mayor is humble and he knows his job very well. Members of the Council appreciate the development he is bringing to Asanteman. We are only supporting him to ensure Kumasi is developed and not doing his work for him. So those making such comments should be careful”.

He indicated that the Mayor was not struggling to implement his developmental agenda for the metropolis, but was only gaining the needed support from members of the Council (KTC) since development was a concerted effort.

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By: Hafiz Tijani/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post We’re not usurping KMA Boss’ mandate – Traditional Council appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Members of the Atwima Kwanwoma District Assembly recently called for a probe into events that left three people dead and several others injured at Foase.

The members have questioned the use of live ammunition by police in controlling rioting residents allegedly armed with sticks and stones over the relocation of the district capital.

The angry youth in the area last week mounted roadblocks and burnt car tyres to protest the relocation of the District capital from Ofoase to Twedie.

A confrontation between the youth and police officers who were deployed to the area to maintain order led to the death of three of the protesters.

One person died instantly, while the other two who were rushed to the hospital died some days later.

The Regional Minister who heads the Regional Security Council and the DCE for the area, among other members of both REGSEC and DISEC, are part of the meeting.

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By: Hafiz Tijani/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Kumasi Chiefs summon Minister, DCE over Foase deaths appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

As a result of that, the chiefs have set up a development council to champion the cause of development from the national kitty to the region.

[contextly_sidebar id=”oVYSPXA9HivQyhFEBKhJSSfI6I46cM1B”]Members of over 70 suburban and divisional chiefs, said the region has been stifled of development despite its huge contribution to national growth.

Divisional chiefs are the steering committee members of the council which has kicked-started its operations.

According to them they would continue to demand from government specific development projects within the framework of a proposed 20-year blue-print.

Bantamahene, Baffuor Owusu Amankwatia VI, who has been speaking to the issue, told journalists in Kumasi that, “they (chiefs) are appalled by poor road networks and general lawlessness in Kumasi.”

“It’s not fair that when you go Accra, what you see in Accra [and] you come to Kumasi and its diferent.”

Sometimes when somebody tells you that Kumasi is the second city after Accra, you don’t believe it. We had the chance to look at the road development for the whole of Ghana in terms of ratings when you start from the bottome, Kumasi is the number three,” he disclosed.

According to him, the chiefs were worried about what they said, was the widening development gab between Kumasi and Accra.

Asantehene, Otumuo Osei Tutu II, has designated two Thursdays in every month for council meetings.

Baffuor Amankwatia said, “Kumasi has suffered years of neglect despite playing a major role in national economic development agenda.”

“Seriously when you look at the resources that come from Kumasi [Ashanti Region], I don’t think we deserve that.”

“We produce cocoa, we produce timber; we produce gold and now we are going into bauxite so I believe that we deserve the fair share of the national cake,” he said.

According to Baffuor Amankwatia VI, chiefs in the region will, hence forth, demand and accept projects only if they meet expectation and requirement of Kumasi Development Council.

“Nananom [chiefs] are putting up a 20-year development plan; how we want Kumasi to look like in the next 20-years so that whatever development that we are going to do in Kumasi will follow that blueprint. It’s not going to be like we are doing a fly over then the government will come [and say] we can’t do the flyover so we are doing a small street for you here. No. Nananom are not going to accept it anymore.”

“If you can’t do the flyover, you stop it. That’s the only way that we can bring Kumasi to the level that it used to be,” added.

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Source: Today Newspaper

The post We deserve better projects – Ashanti chiefs to gov’t appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The officers were called in after the traders massed up at the Assembly’s premises and threatened to attack some workers.

According to the Assembly, the relocation task-force on Tuesday morning went to the Central Business District to evict traders selling on  pavements as part of its exercise to decongest the metropolis.

Some of the traders were arrested by police after pulling knives on the task-force members and resisting attempts to evict them from the pavements.

Their colleagues who were wielding sticks and other implements later in the evening besieged the offices of the KMA to protest the arrest.

The Assembly’s City Guards blocked the entrances of the KMA to prevent the irate youth from getting access to the main yard.

The development resulted in a vehicular jam along the KMA-Adum stretch as the atmosphere was charged.

Most of the irate traders absconded when police arrived at the scene. The police later chased them and managed to pick up eight persons including two females to the Central Police station.

Narrating the incident to Citi News, Public Relations Officer of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, Godwin Okumah Nyame, said “the police this morning arrested some traders to the Central Police station and they thought that those who were arrested were here. For that matter, they mobilized and came here.”

“The police who were also on alert quickly moved here and arrested those who came here. They came here with some sticks and then some offensive weapons just to attack our people” he added.

He disclosed that the relocation task-force as part of the exercise arrested ten drivers and put them before court for loading and dropping off passengers at unauthorized places.

He said four of them appeared in court and were charged, while a bench warrant has been issued for the arrest of six others who failed to appear before the court.

Mr. Nyame indicated that, the Assembly will deal with recalcitrant drivers and traders who fail to comply with the relocation exercise.

According to him, the Assembly has done enough sensitization on the exercise and was worried how some were not willing to comply.

The KMA has relocated traders and drivers from the CBD and Kejetia to the Racecourse terminal and other markets in the metropolis.

The exercise is to pave way for the completion of the Kejetia redevelopment project and also decongest the metropolis.

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By: Hafiz Tijani/Citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Eight traders arrested for rioting at KMA premises appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the passengers who spoke to Citi News, the driver, Nana Boadi, reversed to chase a saloon car from which an object which broke the bus’ windscreen had been thrown.

[contextly_sidebar id=”ybVTGXH0QFYtM4s9o0oJCLabI5RGnBr2″]When the panic-stricken passengers challenged the driver and demanded that he should resume the trip to Kumasi, the incensed driver got off the bus and left them to their fate.

The dissatisfied passengers subsequently reported the matter to authorities of the Kumasi bus station, demanding an apology from the intercity transport giant.

Speaking to Citi News, the Assistant Secretary of the Kumasi VIP Station, Francis Asamoah, who is in Accra for a meeting over the matter, condemned the action of the driver.

He stated that the driver had appeared before the company’s “Disciplinary Committee” where a decision was taken to suspend him indefinitely, until the company completes its investigations into the incident.

He added that the company remains committed to providing excellent services to its passengers.

‘Our vehicles are insured’

In a statement, the company confirmed that the driver had been sanctioned, adding that he had not followed the appropriate procedure.

“Ordinarily, the bus driver involved should have taken the registration number of the vehicle and reported to the nearest police station. We wish to state emphatically that our fleet has been comprehensively insured,” the statement said.

‘It was terrible’

The angry passengers who narrated the incident to Citi News had expressed their disappointment at the driver’s actions arguing that he could have used a better approach to address the matter, instead of putting their lives at risk.

According to the passengers, they pleaded with the driver not to chase the saloon car but their cries fell on deaf ears as he jumped out of the bus and into a taxi to continue his pursuit.

“On our way, when we passed by a little town called Dadieso, near Nkawkaw, all that I head was a big bang. I was reading by then, so when I raised my head, I saw that the right side of the windscreen had burst and pieces of glass falling all over. So when we tried to find out, we were told that an oncoming car had thrown something and it hit the windscreen,” one passenger said.

“But the driver, instead of stopping and checking on the safety of the passengers, he rather in the middle of that small road made a u-turn and started coming towards Accra. I challenged him and he said he was chasing the car from which the object came from. So he parked by the road just by the railway line, abandoned us and left.”

The passengers eventually joined some VIP vehicles that were also heading towards Kumasi.

“Some of us, with the help of the driver’s mate, contacted the VIP [head office in Accra] so a few of us had to board some of their buses that were also heading towards Kumasi,” he added.

Another lady who was on the bus said: “we all started shouting at the driver when he reversed the vehicle.”

“He [Driver] got out of the bus and jumped unto another VIP bus and sped off. Some of the passengers took taxis and mini vans that were heading to Kumasi. Someone contacted the head office of VIP and they said they will set up a committee to investigate it. I don’t know what they are going to do. It was really terrible. This driver should be called to book,” she added.

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By: Caleb Kudah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post ‘Runaway’ VIP Bus driver suspended for abandoning passengers appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Assembly has also asked members of the various traders’ associations to desist from any intended plan to demonstrate and comply with its orders to ply their trade at the Race Course, Afia Kobi (Abinkyi) market or any of the available satellite markets.

[contextly_sidebar id=”S9ecmmj5ttfeh6yvExnsBtD6CGlcxzxN”]The Assembly has also warned that it will not tolerate any threat or act of lawlessness from any trader, and re-assured it will ensure the ongoing exercise to relocate traders and all transport operators is successful.

This comes after over 200 traders comprising members of the Kejetia petty traders, united petty traders and the Kejetia main pavement traders Associations, threatened to go back onto the streets to ply their trade if the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly fails to relocate transport operators to the Race Course terminal by the end of this month.

The traders have also threatened to demonstrate against the Assembly and attributed their low sales to the Assembly’s failure to relocate the transport operators to the terminal.

The Assembly recently relocated traders to Racecourse temporarily to pave way for the completion of the Kejetia Redevelopment Project.

The exercise also aims at decongesting the Central Business District.

Speaking to Citi News, Public Relations Officer of the KMA, Godwin Okumah Nyame, said the Assembly has taken note of the concerns raised by the traders, and said the process of relocation is still ongoing.

“It is rather to limit the drivers permitted to enter the Central Business District as a control measure to reduce congestion. This interim arrangement was agreed upon by the KMA and the Transport Operators, in order to bring some relief to commuters who patronize the intra-city transport system”, he indicated.

He added that, apart from the intracity transport arrangement, the various terminals for cars headed for the Central, Brong Ahafo, Northern regions, and even areas in Ashanti, are still operating at the Race Course where the traders are supposed to transact their businesses.

He called on the traders to cooperate with the Assembly to make the ongoing exercise a successful one.

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By: Hafiz Tijani/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post KMA calls for calm in ongoing relocation exercise appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.