VIP bus driver, 2 passengers shot in Robbery attacks

A driver of a VIP Jeoun bus and two passengers have been shot and injured by armed robbers during a midnight raid on the Apedwa-Bunso stretch of the Accra-Kumasi highway.

The driver, identified as Delali Yao Tsagli, was receiving treatment at the Enyiresi Hospital on the Bunso-Nkawkaw road as of press time yesterday.

Tsagli sustained a deep cut from a chip of the windscreen.

The three were injured when two VIP buses were attacked.

The two passengers were yet to be identified but were reported to be receiving treatment.

Owners of the transport company yesterday dispatched a delegation to visit the driver and the injured passengers at the various hospitals.
The affected bus has also been towed to Accra.

The buses

The first bus was a KIA, with the inscription ‘Yesu Dea’ (God’s property) and had the registration number GE 2397-10, while the second bus was a Marcopolo with registration number GT 5718-18, heading in opposite directions on the Accra-Kumasi road when they were attacked.

The incident took place at dawn after the gunmen had blocked the road.

Attack

Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Deputy Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Eastern Regional Police Command, Sergeant Francis Gomado, said the other driver, Mr. Richard Owusu Boadi, managed to report the incident to the police patrol team at Bunso.

He said when the police got to the scene, they saw a VIP bus with a bullet hole in the windscreen with some of the passengers lying by the roadside.

Two of them were later found to have been injured.

He said the team called for help from the Kyebi police patrol team.

He added that the armed gang, which was hiding in the bush, fired at the police at the crime scene. Despite the effort of the combined team, they could not arrest the perpetrators.

He indicated that the police had nonetheless commenced an investigation into the incident.

Sergeant Gomado said injured passengers were sent to the Osiem and Suhum Government hospitals for treatment.

Victim

In Accra, Joshua Bediako Koomson reports that the driver who fled the attack unhurt, Mr. Owusu Boadi, said the robbers, who were hiding in the bush, rushed to the middle of the road when they saw the buses coincidentally approaching at the same time and shot the driver’s side of the windscreen.

He said the robbers were dressed in black and were hooded.

“The attackers fired at my bus but I swerved by bringing my head down and sped off,” he recounted.

Mr. Boadi said although he also managed to pull through, the bullet destroyed his vehicle’s filter and the air cleaner, as well as the side mirror and some windows.

Precaution

Sergeant Gomado urged commercial drivers to be very circumspect and vigilant on the Accra-Kumasi highway, especially at night.

He urged passengers to also remain very vigilant and to call the police during such emergency situations while urging commercial vehicles to continue to use the services of security personnel on their trips.