I conveyed wounded policemen to hospital — Witness


A building contractor yesterday told the Fast Track High Court trying Johnson Kombian for the murder of two policemen that he (the contractor) had used his Toyota Hilux to convey three wounded policemen to the Baptist Medical Centre at Nalerigu.

Mr Elijah Sillin Laar, the fourth prosecution witness, recounted how he had visited his family in Tamale and later went to the crime scene.

Led in evidence by Mrs Marina Appiah Opare, a Principal State Attorney, Mr Laar said when he went to Nankpanduri, a soup seller informed him about the shooting incident.

He said when he got home, he took his vehicle, with registration number GR 6321 R, and together with four others proceeded to the crime scene.

The witness said they rescued the policemen, placed them in the bucket of the vehicle and drove them to the medical centre.

According to him, one of the policemen was, however, declared dead on arrival at the centre, while the two others were rushed to the theatre.

The witness said the authorities at the centre demanded blood and he and the others donated some to support the injured policemen.

Kombian is facing two counts of murder and one count of conspiracy. 

He has denied all the charges before a seven-member jury. Background

Kombian, alias Garkum, and his accomplices who are currently on the run are alleged to have ambushed the three policemen on October 17,  2010 and succeeded in killing two of them.

The deceased are Constable Prince Agyare and Constable Owusu Frimpong.

A third policeman, Corporal Osei Bonsu, sustained gunshot wounds but survived. Facts of the case

Kombian allegedly conspired with his friend, Kofi Naaman, known as Accra Boy, to rob Djato Mathias and then attempted to kill him.

The notorious robber was arrested, tried and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment by the Tamale Circuit Court but he escaped while serving his jail term.  

According to the prosecution, Kombian sought refuge at Nankpanduri in the Bunkprugu Yunyoo District in the Northern Region, which happens to be his home town.

On October 17, 2010, the accused person and his accomplices received information that a number of policemen had been detailed to perform duties on the Nakpanduri Scarp. Ambush

Suspecting that the policemen had been assigned to pick him up, Kombian and his friends, who were also labelled as notorious robbers by the prosecution, ambushed and attacked the three policemen. 

They allegedly fired gunshots at the policemen who were on a motorbike. The policemen fell into a 10-metre deep valley.

The accused person and his group continued to fire sporadically into the valley, in the hope of killing the policemen, who returned occasional gunfire.

After 30 minutes of firing, Kombian and his gang stopped, and on realising that the gunshots had ended, Agyare and his colleagues mistakenly thought their attackers had left. 

They, therefore, went out of their hideout and were subjected to more gunfire.

Help finally came for Agyare and his colleagues, while Kombian and his accomplices bolted. The wounded policemen were conveyed to the Nalerigu Hospital but Agyare was later pronounced dead.

Frimpong also died later, while Bonsu was transferred to the Police Hospital in Accra where he was treated and discharged. Escape and conviction

According to the prosecution, Kombian escaped to Togo after the incident but he was later picked up by the Togolese authorities and handed over to their Ghanaian counterparts.

He was convicted by a circuit court, presided over by Mr Justice E. Kyei-Baffour, and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for escaping from lawful custody.

Kombian is being held for killing two policemen at Nankpanduri in the Northern Region.

He and his accomplices, who are on the run, are alleged to have ambushed three policemen.

Two of the policemen, Constables Prince Agyare and Owusu Frimpong, died leaving Constable Osei Bonsu. —GNA

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