The legal counsel for Yaw Asante Agyekum, George Bernard Shaw has claimed that notorious armed robber Ataa Ayi and a co-accused were tortured by police to frame Yaw Asante Agyekum.
Yaw Asante Agyekum was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to 35 years in prison in December 2002 for conspiracy to commit robbery.
He sadly served over 20 years of his sentence but on June 5, 2025, the court’ acquitted and discharged him.
Ataa Aryee known as Raymond Aryee Aryeetey was arrested for terrorising Ghanaians in the early 2000s with his syndicate of armed robbers.
He was known for his notorious robberies, carjacking, jewellery theft, house raids, and more.
In February 2005, Ataa Ayi was apprehended at his hideout by the police during a sting operation following a tip-off.
He was sentenced to 70 years and 20 years in separate cases of armed robbery by the Accra Fast Track High Court.
Speaking on Channel One TV, George Bernard Shaw stated, “He [Yaw Agyekum] denied everything; he told the police that he didn’t have anything to do with it. All he knew was that [Ataa Ayi] brought bikes on and off to be repaired for him”.
He added that Agyekum only had indirect ties to Ataa Ayi through mutual acquaintances and that he had provided the police with information that helped track down Nana Owusu and, later, Ataa Ayi.
“During police interrogation… they were tortured to extract information from them. In the process, according to the police, Ataa Ayi and another person confessed that Yaw Asante Agyekum was part of the robbery. And they relied on it and used it at trial,” Shaw stated.
Meanwhile, Yaw Asante Agyekum, the man wrongfully jailed as Ataa Aryee’s accomplice has revealed he was framed by the police as a criminal.
Speaking on The Nana Aba Series on YouTube, Yaw Asante Agyekum stated, “I will never forget this. I have never held a gun before. I am not an armed robber. But guns were laid before me, and I was given some amulets to wear just to take a photograph to frame me as an armed robber.
That really scared my relatives when they saw the picture, even though the items were not mine,” he said.
He added, “At the time of my arrest, I was holding only a motorbike key—nothing else. But when they took me to the police station, they placed old guns in front of me and took a photograph to support a false story.
This was during the time when now-retired Police Commissioner Rose Atinga Bio was at Nkawkaw. Some officers who knew me actually vouched for me, saying I wasn’t a criminal, but others insisted I was an armed robber”.
