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An Accra Circuit Court on Monday acquitted and discharged two soldiers and their accomplices arraigned for allegedly kidnapping and robbing customers of the Lapaz Branch of the Global Access Money Transfer.

The four are Lance Corporal Obeng Darko aka Stylish, of the 49 Engineer Training School and Lance Corporal Dasmani Faisal, of the 48 Engineer Regiment, Christopher Quainoo, Private surveyor, and Isaac Larbi, unemployed.

They all pleaded not guilty to the charges and after full trial they were acquitted and discharged.

The court presided over by Mr. Francis Obiri in the judgement said he was unable to convict the accused because the prosecution failed to bring the complainants in the case to court to testify and assist in the trial and also to identify the accused persons in court.

He said there had never been a trial in court where conviction was based on speculations and as such the court would not be able to convict the accused persons.

The prosecutor, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Tuaruka Duuti, told the court that the complainant was an employee of the Bank.

He said for some time customers of the bank had been complaining that anytime they withdrew money, some soldiers and their accomplices would arrest them, send them to an unknown place and collect their money from them.

He said on May 11, 2013 at about 1200 hours, the accused persons came to the bank premises and on seeing one of the complainants coming out from the bank, mistook him for a customer who had gone to withdraw money and detained him.

DSP Duuti said the complainant was then put into a taxi and sent to Dzorwulu, where he was later left to his fate.

He said the complainant reported the ordeal to the police and on May 18 at about 1200 hours the accused persons were seen again hovering around the bank premises, where the policemen on guard arrested them and handed them over to the Tesano Police.

The Prosecution said an identification parade was conducted where the complainant identified the accused persons as those who had kidnapped him.

He said another complainant, a student, also reported to the police that on January 17, 2013, he withdrew an amount GH¢2,000.00 from the Ecobank’ branch at Mile 7, out of which he bought a mattress leaving an amount of GH¢1,780.00.

He said the complainant took a taxi heading to Dobro near Nsawam, but on reaching the Taifa junction, three soldiers including L/ CPL Darko, and L/CPL Faisal who were on board another taxi crossed the taxi carrying the complainant.

The prosecution said the soldiers took the complainant into a waiting taxi and sped off to an isolated area where they took away the amount of GH¢1,780.00 and a Nokia mobile phone, and later took an amount of GH¢1,900.00 from a driver, who resides at Medie.

He said they all denied the offence in their caution statement.