THE REPUBLIC vs. HARUNA SEIDU @ OMARU AND 3 ORS

The complainant’s brother, Dawuda Osman (PW1), a Fulani herdsman at Wapuli in the Saboba District, was forcibly seized from his house at night on 2 December 2025 by armed men, beaten, cut with cutlasses, blindfolded, transported to an abandoned hut, and held there for about three days while ransom negotiations were conducted with his family. The kidnappers initially demanded GH¢100,000 and later accepted GH¢90,000. PW2, Buubu Osman, delivered the ransom in an orange-and-black bag at Joblajo, where PW1 was released. Police intelligence officers, who had been monitoring the operation, later arrested the 1st, 2nd and 3rd accused at Bokpaba and recovered the orange-and-black bag, part of the ransom money, phones, and other items. PW1 and PW2 identified the 1st, 2nd and 4th accused at identification parades as persons who played various roles in the kidnapping, detention, guarding, and ransom collection. The court found that all four accused acted together in the kidnapping, inflicted harm on PW1, and threatened him with death.