Pius Anundoabil Ayoma
According to information compiled by The Chronicle, Pius Anundoabil Ayoma, an alleged armed robber who escaped from the Manet Police Station after assaulting a pregnant woman, cut through the cell's iron bars.
In an interview, a source with a deep voice revealed that Pius cut eight iron bars from the cell in order to flee, despite the fact that the police have remained tight-lipped on the subject. The informant indicated that the police had yet to determine whether the suspect used a hacksaw blade or a cutter to accomplish his objective, as well as how he obtained such foreign materials in his cell.
The source added that the cell was just behind the counter, which raises queries as to how the accused managed to flee without a trace. The informant stated that Pius shared his confinement with another prisoner serving a four-year sentence at Ankaful Prisons.
Due to his large girth, the prisoner was unable to evade capture. Pius was reportedly detained at the Manet Police Station for close to a year despite the Station Officer's (who perished while on duty) protests that the accused be transferred elsewhere.
James Okai, the late Station Officer, allegedly feared that continuously detaining the accused at the station was hazardous because he fired at the law enforcement officers who arrested him from his hideout in Fumbisi, Upper East Region.
The source recalled that, on numerous occasions, the late Station Officer instructed that only food and water could be brought into the confinement.
Intriguingly, when the newspaper asked the source for CCTV footage from the day of the incident, it was informed that the system unit reloads every 24 hours and, as a result, footage from that day is unavailable.
When the jailbreak issue became public on March 8, 2023, The Chronicle contacted the District Commander, Superintendent Joshua Owusu, but he declined to comment beyond verifying the event.
This reporter also attempted to contact the Greater Accra Regional Commander regarding the issues, but was unable to do so.
Background
On the charges of armed robbery and attempted homicide, Pius was being tried by a Criminal High Court in Accra, presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo.
The court ordered that Pius be transferred from police custody to the Nsawam Prisons on March 1 and rescheduled the case for March 20. The accused was returned to the Manet Police Station due to the court officers' tardiness in preparing the arrest warrant.
The accused escaped in the early hours of March 2 after everything had been prepared for his transfer to prison detention. Pius was a member of the expectant woman and her husband's private security staff.
Due to the complainant's report of trivial theft, the employer relieved the accused of his duties. At approximately 7:30 p.m. on January 31, 2020, despite no longer working at the complainant's residence, the accused, armed with a firearm and a knife, and wearing a disguise, appeared on the premises and attacked the new security personnel on duty.
After tying the security guard's legs and arms with a necktie and rope, he struck him with the gun's butt several times. Using a duplicate key he already possessed, he obtained access to the main residence. He injured himself in the process of breaking into the couple's restroom, where the complainant's wife was freshening up for church, leaving blood stains on the floor.
He demanded that she transfer funds from her phone to a mobile phone number that investigations subsequently revealed was registered in his name.
Then, he led her to the room where he had tied the security guard and threatened to hit her with the pistol while he was beating the guard if she did not give him more money. She begged him not to strike her because she was expectant and did not want to lose her unborn child.
The accused compelled her to wire approximately GH2,000.00 to the aforementioned phone number and also assaulted her. Again, he asked her for money, but she replied that she did not have any, so he told her he would wait for her husband to return, knowing that they were wealthy.
Then, Pius bound her in the lavatory, ransacked the couple's rooms, and seized their belongings. The accused then stole two iPhones, a Dell laptop, a DSTV decoder, a subwoofer, a 32-inch Samsung flat-screen television, a 55-inch Philips flat-screen television, two travel bags, and miscellaneous clothing.
In addition, Pius instructed her to use her phone to call an Uber to the home. As soon as the Uber driver arrived, the accused loaded all of the items into the vehicle with his assistance.
However, the defendant did not depart and instead waited for the complainant (husband) to return home from work. As soon as the complainant returned home, he realized his residence was under attack. The accused, who was lurking behind the bathroom door, attacked him when he attempted to free his wife from her toilet seat shackles.
The court was further informed that the accused attempted to strike the complainant with his gun, but the complainant hit the gun with his hand and ran outside while yelling for assistance.
The accused pursued the complainant outside and fired at him with a pistol, but missed, allowing the complainant to escape unharmed. The suspect, who had earlier come out unmasked to load the stolen items into the Uber vehicle, jumped into the vehicle while wearing a mask and ordered the driver, under threat of a pistol, to leave the residence and head towards Spintex Road.
On the way, the suspect took off his disguise and instructed the Uber driver to call him a taxi. The driver complied and stopped a taxi; he then transferred the loot into the taxi and instructed the driver to drive in the direction of Kasapreko.
The police were notified, and the suspect was tracked down to the Kasapreko junction, where he was observed in the taxi with the stolen property belonging to the complainants. The officer signaled for the driver to halt, and he did so.
The suspect approached the officers while brandishing a pistol. The police also aimed a gun at him, but when he realized that it was inoperable, he was able to flee the vehicle, leaving the taxi and the stolen goods behind. The taxi was transported to the Manet Police Station, where a report was filed.
Subsequent investigations revealed that the accused was concealing in Fumbisi, Upper East Region, where he was apprehended. With the assistance of his mother and other family members, the accused resisted arrest by firing at one of the arresting officers, injuring him.