Police arrest gang leader in Nima street shooting

The police have arrested suspect Ali Awudi, one of the Nima riot kingpins and leader of the “Bombom gang” in connection with the recent violence in the area.

The suspect who has been on the run since the recent Mamobi-Nima violence which occurred on 18 January , 2022 was arrested at Aflao through an intelligence-led operation.

His arrest means that the leaders of the two groups are both in police custody. Suspect Ibrahim Hussein alias Kumodzi, leader of the Kumordzi group was earlier arrested on February 4, 2022 in a similar intelligence-led exercise.

So far, 14 suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident and we are still pursuing other members of the gang to bring them to face justice.

The police have assured they will do whatever it takes to arrest all other members of the gang and dismantle their activities through the due process of the law.

Chief Imam calls for calm
The National chief imam, Sheikh Usmanu Nuhu Sharubutu, had earlier condemned the violent clash and called for restraint on the part of the factions and the youth, reports state-owned Daily Graphic.

Condemning the clash during a courtesy call on him by 16 Regional Chief Imams at his Fadama residence in Accra, Sheikh Sharubutu urged the youth to avoid dispute among themselves and rather live in peace and stay united, stressing: “Togetherness is God’s mercy.”

Those the police arrested included Abdul Gafari Mohammed, Bashir Ganiyu, Mohammed Saidu Baribui, Attawurah Basson and Gariba Abdul Mumin.

The rest are Abdul Aziz Sulemana, Imoro Ibrahim, Issah Seidu and Elliasu Salim.

The police retrieved 12 empty cartridges, a live bullet and three AAA live ammunition from the scene at Nima.

Other items found and retained to aid investigations included a pistol magazine, two machetes, two knives, a toy pistol and two mobile phones.

Two persons, including a commercial motorbike rider, popularly referred to as ‘Okada rider’, are in critical condition at the 37 Military Hospital after they were hit by a stray bullet during the shooting.

One of them also sustained deep matchete cuts on the neck and the back. A barbering shop was also vandalised in the process.

The police have since intensified patrols in the area and mounted snap checkpoints where they stop moving vehicles and check their occupants and content.

A number of young people said to be members of the two groups have allegedly fled the area for fear of being arrested by the police.

The Director-General of the Public Affairs Directorate of the Ghana Police Service, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Kwesi Ofori, said the people behind the incident were being pursued to face justice.

In line with that, he said, a special intelligence and surveillance team had been deployed to Nima, Mamobi and adjoining communities in pursuit of the remaining members of the two gangster groups.

Preliminary investigations, he said, indicated that the violent disturbance was occasioned by a misunderstanding between the two gangster groups, namely, the ‘Bombom group’, led by one Ali Awudi, alias Bomba, and the ‘Kumodzi group’, led by one Ibrahim Hussain, based at Mamobi and Nima Gutter, respectively.

Investigations also established that Kumodzi, who controlled the Nima-based group, went to the Mamobi ‘black market’ to transact foreign exchange business.

While he was there, the two gangster groups violently attacked each other, in the course of which some gang members and two ‘black market’ currency dealers were hit and injured.

Source: Daily Mail GH