Two lance corporals have been put before an Accra circuit court for allegedly abetting to steal 16 CZ assault rifles belonging to the Ghana Police Service.
Lance Corporals William Atia Asitanga, 32, and Sulemana Zanya Abdul-Rahman, 27, have been charged with abetment of crime, namely stealing.
Asitanga is facing an additional charge of stealing rifles.
They pleaded not guilty before the trial judge, Mrs Evelyn Asamoah.
The court has, however, remanded them into lawful custody.
Meanwhile, prosecution, led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Emmanuel Nyamekye, said the police have been able to retrieve some of the weapons, and prayed the court to give them some time to conclude investigations to file their disclosures.
The court obliged prosecution’s prayers and adjourned the matter to September 10, 2025.
The facts before the court are that the Ghana Police Service is the complainant in the case.
Prosecution said Asitanga was stationed at the National Counter Terrorism Department, Accra and doubled as the Armourer in charge of arms and ammunitions at the Department.
Abdul-Rahman was also stationed at Asiwa in the Bekwai District in the Ashanti Region.
In March 2024, internal audit was conducted, which revealed that 16 CZ assault rifles were missing.
Asitanga, in charge of the Armoury, could not account for the rifles hence investigations commenced.
Preliminary investigations led to the arrest of the two accused persons, who are assisting in investigations.
The Daily Searchlight cannot state on authority whether the missing guns were indeed stolen by the two officers. However, in the normal scheme of things, it is only police personnel who would get the opportunity to enter and steal from an armory. Or personnel who work with the Ghana Police Service. That means that if the theft was not committed by the arrested individuals, then it was committed by an individual or individuals in positions of trust.
This type of behavior amounts to the worst type of betrayal of the public trust, and we hope that beyond the prosecution, the police service would delve deep and far to establish the full facts and the full culprits.
(Editorial of the Daily Searchlight of 29th August, 2025).
