THE Ghana Police Service has arrested a Nigerian identified as Augustine Okechuku Maazi, and killed two other suspected members of a robbery gang after an intelligence-led operation foiled an alleged plan to attack banks in the Labone area of Accra.
The Ghana Police Service revealed this in a statement that the incident occurred on Thursday, after it received intelligence at about 10:45 a.m. that a robbery syndicate was preparing to attack GCB Bank, Ecobank and Zenith Bank in Labone.
The Service added that a response team was immediately deployed to the area, where officers found members of the suspected gang in vehicles parked close to the banks, noting that one of the vehicles sped away after the suspects noticed the officers but officers pursued the vehicle and arrested Maazi, while another occupant escaped.
“The robbers in the second vehicle also tried to escape amidst firing. The Police engaged them in a shootout resulting in the death of two suspects,” the Service said, adding that a fourth suspect reportedly escaped during the operation and a manhunt has been launched to apprehend him.
The Service explained that the police subsequently recovered two vehicles allegedly linked to the suspects, a Toyota Highlander with registration number GS-1434-18 and a Hyundai Tucson with registration number GS 7915-17, as well as a blow pistol.
The police said that Maazi remained in police custody and was assisting investigators, while the bodies of the two deceased suspects have been deposited at the morgue for preservation, identification and autopsy.
The Service has urged members of the public to continue to provide credible information on suspected criminal activities.
However, GCB Bank has denied that its Labone branch was robbed or that an attempted robbery took place on its premises.
In a statement issued after the police announcement, the bank said neither its premises nor its operations were breached.
GCB said no customer, employee, funds or property of the bank was affected by the incident.
The police have not indicated whether the alleged plan involved entering the banks or targeting customers and other individuals in the vicinity.
The ICIR reports that the latest incident comes months after another robbery case linked to Labone drew police attention.
In February 2026, Ghana police shot dead Clement Kofi Aidoo, also known as Yaw, Paddy and Joseph Abequaye, during an intelligence-led operation in the Awutu Senya District of the Central Region.
Aidoo was being investigated over a December 2025 robbery at the Labone residence of a 77-year-old woman, as police said the woman was attacked in her bedroom, restrained and robbed of her Toyota Hilux pickup, an iPhone 16 Pro Max and other personal belongings.
Police said Aidoo attempted to attack officers with a sharpened cutlass while they were trying to arrest him, prompting officers to shoot him.
In March, Ghana’s Interior Ministry said the country’s Criminal Investigations Department had recorded a 5.1 per cent decline in armed robbery cases, with 1,142 cases recorded during the period under review, compared with the previous year.
The ministry attributed the improvement partly to intelligence-led policing, faster responses to crime scenes and increased community engagement.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.