A security coordinator of the Metro Mass Transit Company Limited has been sentenced to 10years in prison for extortion and unlawful entry.
An Accra Circuit Court convicted Lawal Fuseina and sentenced him after he was found guilty for charges of unlawful entry and extortion.
The convict is said to have planted a secret camera in the office of the Managing Director of the MMT, Bennet Aboagye and used the recording to demand US$1million.
He, however, succeeded in obtaining GH¢40,000 from Mr Aboagye.
The court presided over by Adelaide Abui Keddy said the sentence should serve as a deterrent to others.
One other person mentioned as Bawa, who is said to have conspired with the convict is being pursued by the police.
Prosecuting, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), E. Nyamekye told the court that on March 15, 2018, Lawal requested a meeting with the complainant, Mr Aboagye, and his personal assistant citing a security breach in the company as the agenda.
He told the court that, the complainant could not make it to the meeting and asked his personal assistant to meet Lawal.
The prosecutor said, during the meeting, Lawal informed the complainant’s personal assistant that he had received a phone call from Bawa and his group who requested to meet him.
He explained that, Lawal allegedly went to meet Bawa and his supposed group who revealed that, they had a damaging audio recording of the complainant’s conversation implicating him in several corrupt deals and as such was demanding US$1million from the complainant to destroy the audio recordings.
According to the prosecutor, Bawa threatened to give the audio recording to the print and the electronic media for publication if the complainant failed to meet their demand.
The prosecutor told the court that, later, when the complainant and his personal assistant made it to a meeting at the behest of Lawal, he handed over to him a transcript of the said audio recordings and reiterated his demand on behalf of Bawa.
The prosecutor said, the complainant realised that, it was an obvious ploy by Lawal to blackmail and extort money from him and decided to play along.
He said Mr Aboagye involved a witness he considered as an expert in security issues in the case.
The witness invited Mr Aboagye and Lawal to his office and negotiated the amount of US$1million demanded by Lawal to GH¢20,000 in exchange for the said damaging audio recording.
He said, Lawal refused the offer but later settled on GH¢40,000.
